Daylight

My friend from Arizona mentioned that they do not do Daylight Saving Time in the Grand Canyon State. I might note that although they do not keep Daylight Saving Time in Arizona by changing their clocks, they still have to do with it because they deal with all those annoying folks in surrounding states and elsewhere who shift their clocks about.

At any rate, now that Daylight Saving Time is over -- we are not now observing it but are in so-called Standard Time -- those of us who live near the Arctic Circle must cope with early nightfalls. Today, for example, the sun rose at 6:36 a.m. and will set at 4:50 p.m. For the entire first full week of December, the sun will set at 4:22 p.m. Yes, that is not a typo -- sunset at 4:22 p.m. The latest sunrise, on the other hand, will be in early January, when the sun will rise as late as 7:33 a.m.

By comparison, in Phoenix during the first full week of December, the sun will be setting about 5:20 p.m., and it's latest January sunrise will be at about the same time as ours -- 7:33 a.m. So you not only don't have to remember to play with your clocks, you get one more hour than we do in the darkest of months! On the other hand, the temperature in Phoenix hit 122 [50 C] on June 26, 1990, and that ain't never happening in Wisconsin! (No, we will not talk about the -55 [-48 C] recorded in Couderay, Wisconsin back in 1996.)

Don't get your shorts in a bunch about the above dates not being the traditional dates for the shortest day of the year. That real date fluctuates a bit anyway, and the length of the day is determined by both sunrise-sunset, to quote Fiddler on the Roof, not just one pole of the pair.

At any rate, when the sun sets anywhere near 4:30 in the afternoon, I begin to understand why bears hibernate.

The background image, for those who do not recognize it, is of sunset at Holy Hill where I was once prior. Rising as it does far above the surrounding countryside, Holy Hill provides views of sunsets that go one forever. And the silhouette makes a striking image against a sunset background.