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| Even those who live in Polar Night still "find the light." |
The days are quickly becoming shorter here. In June we have close to 18 wonderful hours of daily sunlight, but in August? About 16. Near the end of September? Around 11. In December? A mere 7. But I'll take those seven and send good thoughts to the Canadians (and all northerners) who live north of the Arctic Circle.
I don't mean to get ahead of myself, but if you live in the North, it's a bit like being a sunflower—everyday you notice, and you turn to the sun, with gratitude.
Do you know the sunflower theory? It's a lovely story, unscientific, but warmhearted fiction. Young sunflowers do indeed turn east daily, seeking the sun (heliotropism), but the story tells that at night, sunflowers will turn to face each other, seeking the sun in a partner. Although a winning metaphor for how to find solace in each other during dark times, it is fiction.
But finding the light in your (northern or elsewhere) surroundings (and friends) no matter the circumstances? Or blooming where you're planted? Let's be honest: those notions seem rooted in reason, wise, and like sunflowers, down-to-earth.
Speaking of sunflowers, I haven't seen any this year. As for rain clouds, there are plenty of those around. :)
ReplyDeleteWith your summer heat wave, I assume the rain is welcome. In eight or nine days, t rained ONCE while we were in Ireland in late June, early July.
DeleteI've noticed the days are getting shorter, which means that eventually the hot summer weather has to end.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's not just a northern experience, is it? Yet in the north it's extra.
DeleteWe have some lights on timers. We already need to set them earlier and will keep repeating until December.
ReplyDeleteDecember is closer than we'd like to think, isn't it?
Delete...you live at 51.05 N and I live at 43.16 N. That's quite a difference, but being in the Great Lakes area, for us the sun is MIA for extended periods of time in winter. When it suddenly appears, it's a JOY!
ReplyDeleteYes, you know this feeling then...but I live around 56, not 51.
DeleteWhat a charming myth about what sunflowers do at night! I've never heard it before.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I think I read it on another blog.
DeleteWhat you're saying tells me there inly a couple good walking months for me and I'd better get serious about finding a free hour-long salsa workout on YouTube. -Kate
ReplyDeleteNot at all, lol, you're "much further south" than I am, so you probably have lots of time, like maybe a day or two more of good sunlight than I do, ha.
DeleteThere are usually a few sunflower fields up here. I passed a couple on the way up, but not as many as I used to see. I am told they require a lot of moisture and that is something they have not had a lot of in the past couple of years.
ReplyDeleteThe moisture is everything isn't it? Too much, too little, it's a constant high wire act for farmers.
DeleteI love the thought of sunflowers turning towards each other in the night. I've never heard of that fiction before and just wish it could be true.
ReplyDeleteI wish for that too.
DeleteTrue or not, I love the sunflower story! We're noticing this in Michigan too. I'm still trying to figure out how it takes all day for the sun to get close to sunset, but it seems like you can actually see the sun sink below the tree line in a matter of a minute or so. Too quickly. It's getting dark here in the 8:30 zone; on July 4, fireworks didn't start till 10:30, waiting for the dark!
ReplyDeleteRelatable. We do fireworks here on July 1 at midnight but it's still a little too light.
DeleteI, for one, don't mind the shorter days. I find coziness in the dark. I do appreciate a good sunflower though!
ReplyDeleteAdjust my attitude? Well done, sir.
DeleteThat is a lovely story. Where I live it gets dark and cold and I love that though. We have a sunflower farm not too far. Went last year and haven't been this year. We are all allowed to walk it, snap pictures and just soak in the goodness.
ReplyDeleteSounds like good medicine.
DeleteI lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for 5 years as a kid, which is about 64 degrees north, and about 140 miles from the arctic circle. I remember how the days shorten so quickly, and how different the weather is than my current home in Northern California. In Fairbanks, August had a bit of an autumnal feel to it. In my part of California, we don’t get a real hint of autumn until at least late September, sometimes October.
ReplyDeleteYes! You know this feeling...it's how quickly they become shorter.
DeleteHuh........I never thought of it that way, but the nights are certainly drawing in now..........
ReplyDeleteIf we want to be, we are a bit like sunflowers.
DeleteI hadn't heard that story either, but I like it. We will be hot for a few more months, but the sun is shining in different windows in the morning. You can feel fall coming in.
ReplyDeleteIt's creeping up on us, isn't it? Sigh.
DeleteWhat a wonderful allegory I’ve found here this morning in your sunflower story. We should all turn toward one another in the dark, offering our light.
ReplyDeleteAgreed...and that is why I continue to blog. Thank you for your light. :)
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