Me, spilling out all my thoughts, inner and outer, on just about anything! Lots of poetry, short stories from past experiences, anecdotes about teaching elementary school, music, relationships....garage sale type thing...Something For Everyone!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Sunrise, Sunset!




The sunrise on the top was taken in July through the window of our summer bedroom at about 6:00 a.m. when the actual sunrise was 5:30 a.m. Those days of sun streaming onto the bed are long gone. It is so much lower now already that we have to go looking for it at the front of our house and not until 7:15 a.m.!

On the bottom is a sunset that was taken at the cottage in July at 9:30 p.m. How lovely those long days of summer were! It is starting to get dark now at about 6:45 p.m. and in a few weeks when we set the clocks back, it will be at 5:45 p.m.

I will miss my daily dose of Vitamin D as we head into the dark season. It no doubt will affect people's mood and outlook on life. Many people will become a little down come November, which is the worst month of the year for depression. We need a little "fake" sunshine, AKA spirit lifters, to bolster each other up. More fun social and physical activities, lunches and outings with friends, interesting classes to take, books to read, movies to see and just about anything else to keep us from dipping into the doldrums. What do you do to keep on an even keel with fewer hours of sunlight?

Here's hoping everyone braces themselves and banks some rays to make it through the not-so-distant winter unscathed!

20 Comments:

Blogger Stephen Newton said...

Having lived in sunny Florida for 13 years before coming to the Tennessee mountains, I wonder the same thing: How will I survive the winter months of grey without the sun. Even Floridians suffer when the sun disappears behind clouds for more than a day at a time. Everyone goes through solar withdrawal. I guess that's why the pagans had so many celebratins mid-winter.

Thanks for your insightful comments about Emily. I'd never thought about the passage through the storm. My astrologer told me that Emily and I would have a strong connection as she grows older.

As i get to know you, Mother, I'm discovering that you must hold beliefs far different than most tradtional teachers...more akin to my generation of former hippies and soothsayers. Am I right?

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Stephen: Yep, you'd mostly be right. A tad too young to have been a true hippie, but certainly was a strong influence for me. My high school years ('67 - '72) were quite the formative years for me!
Now, an older member of my teaching staff, I still like wearing the long skirts and funky jewelry!

Don't have the old school marm hair in a bun either! When I first started teaching in '81, the older ones were right from the one room schoolhouse and thought I was way out there! Now, I don't know what the young teachers think of me! The litle kids I teach think I'm cool though, and I love that!

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Bobealia... said...

I hate waking up in the dark.
The cynic in me thought, hey, maybe that is what I need: a tanning bed!

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Stephen: Florida in withdrawal for a day or two? Florida is synonymous with "Sun"!
You're right, we need to have more of our OWN festivals to keep us going....even if we're alone! But it's always neat to share with others and connect. I sometimes hate that people tend to hole up during the winter. We all need to force ourselves out even in the cold and snow! Guess you don't get much of that stuff!!!

Bobealia: Yeah, I thought of that as I was typing "fake sun" and I used to do that but not now....the skin cancer thing scares me a little! Do the fake stuff!

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger meno said...

I live in the Pacific Northwest, so in the winter it is dark from 4 in the afternnoon until 8:30 in the morning. We make up for it in the summer, but it's hard to keep my spirits up when it's always dark. Mostly i keep on excercising and try to force myself to leave the house in the evening. It's dark, so my body thinks it should be in bed.

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger bulletholes said...

Hah! I had a friend that went some where in Alaska and when she asked what time it was they told her 12 O'clock. She had to ask if that was Noon or Midnite... or so the story goes. They say that everything is big in Texas but from what I understand, up there is where the really big stuff is. With the shortened growing season, I guess the race is on.

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Old Lady said...

You get more light in the summer but less in the winter. Having lived from Southern US to Alaska I think I prefer Southern US light differences!

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

I can't believe my own comment was ingested by my blog!

Meno: You're way up there, worse than us! The shortest day is from 8;00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.
I'm exercising, singing in a choir, and going to lots of concerts! I'm volunteering in my school too.

Steve: Hey, I believe that story! Most of our plants were toast this morning after a heavy frost.

Speaking of toast, do you Texans really eat that extra thick bread they sell here called "Texas Toast"?

Old Lady: I'm with you! Let there be light!

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I try to get out in the sun when it's shinning....even if for 15 minutes or so...like a voltec solar panel soaking it up and storing it.

I think our candy is a little different than ours in the US.

Friday, October 13, 2006

 
Blogger Richard said...

I miss the longer days. However, since 2002, I have noticed that I go through a down period starting at the end of August / beginning of September.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Colleen: Me too. I love the sun and you have to catch it when it's there. I can't believe the difference in my spirit between a bright, sparkling, sunny January day with pure white snow, and a dull, dark, cloudy, windy November day with rain. I hope February is sunny because that is the last straw for people sometimes before they can "see" light at the end of that dark tunnel.

Richard: Is that just an association response to the events of your life in 2002, or a learned response to what lies ahead for us after the fall?

Saturday, October 14, 2006

 
Blogger Richard said...

I havge no idea. 2002 throught 2004 were definitely the worst periods, however 2005 and 2006 still had strong despondant feelings associated with them.

I am not sure if it is caused by work being slower at that time and so I have more time to twiddle my thumbs, or if I am simply more sensitive to the shortening days and the end of summer.

I certainly don't recall it when I was younger. Although I did notice how quickly the end of summer would come, but I was always eager to go back to school and learn new things (at least I hoped to learn).

Saturday, October 14, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Maybe you are more sensitive ...too bad you can't try one of those special lights for people with clinical SAD. It's supposed to help.

I don't recall any down feelings at all about fall and winter coming when I was a kid. I loved them all and I was excited to have Hallowe'en and then Christmas. I even loved playing out in the snow. I think when we were younger, life was naturally new and fresh for us, and I was physically able to do more, which is certainly not the case now! I'd love to be able to ski with my husband but my hands/feet get cold and I am not that balanced on skis.

Here's hoping for a sunnier than usual fall and winter!

Saturday, October 14, 2006

 
Blogger Barbara said...

Beautiful sun pictures! We played your song as we ate breakfast this morning. You have 2 new fans in Kris and Bill. We were talking about how much fun it would be to make a road trip to visit all the people we Blog with!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

 
Blogger RennyBA said...

Wonderful sunset pictures! Our sunset time today is 5PM and the sunrise was 6:45AM. Shorter day’s means more indoors activity and my wife can lit the candles with effect as she sort of miss that in the summer time. So more TV watching, card playing and book reading in Norway in the darker time of year as we sit indoors and count our blessings for all the long, sunny summer days. But outdoors activities in the winter time can be fun to, as you probably have seen from my blog. So each season has it’s charm you know:-)
Btw; we compensate the lack of VitaminD with Mega3 capsules.
Thanks for reminding of the fact of the impact of the golf stream to the Norwegian climate in your last comment on my blog. I should have to make a post about that one day – so stay tuned:-)

Sunday, October 15, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Barbara: Thanks for starting my fan club! A DC in France branch! HA! yes, I was thinking it would be neat to have all the people you "visit" in Blogland, un the same room. Would you be able to pick them out if you'd never seen pictures of them?


Renny: Thanks! Your sunrise is earlier right now but sunset is earlier too! Do you set the clocks back at the end of Oct.?
What card games do you play? You guys have a good balance of indoor and outdoor activity and thanks for the tip on the Mega 3. (Is that Omega?)

Richard: The one with no name above Barbara's was for you! Maybe we get the effect worse when we get older because we're not outside as much as when we were kids? Many kids today aren't out as much as we were either so that'd be interesting to know if there are more kids now with SAD.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

 
Blogger Lynn said...

That is beautiful.
I like to see the day begin and end as well.

I certainly love the light. When I taught driving I was out in the day all day. I really enjoyed it.

When I drove transport truck I worked mostly in the night. I missed the day, but I got to see the sun rise every day.
On the summer nights I would get to see the sun go down as I headed more and more West.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Lynn: I can never decide which I like best, sunrise or sunset!?? I love both time of day if they're quiet.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

 
Blogger Kilroy_60 said...

Have you had a look at my first blog post? I received a comment nothing the "Fiddler On The Roof" theme.






Kilroy Was Here!

Monday, October 23, 2006

 
Blogger Mother of Invention said...

Kilroy: Do you mean the first one ever on your original blog or this one? You're the only one who has mentioned the title's significance from Fiddler!

Monday, October 23, 2006

 

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