Although the noon-day shadows are still very long, and the sun is still low in the sky, I can at least feel safe in the knowledge that it's getting better every day - as in the sun is setting later each day.
This picture was taken at pretty much 12 noon today (please excuse the cr*p in the background, but the garden is like a wasteland at the moment with the lawn resembling a cross between the Battle of the Somme and a swamp). The shadows are undoubtedly very long still but, according to the BBC weather website (which also gives the sunrise and sunset times), in the past three and a half weeks since the winter solstice we have already gained about half an hour extra of daylight each afternoon.
I can tell that the sun is creeping slowly but surely back over the horizon as even the washing gets a teensy little bit of sun on it around noon.
This is my all-time favourite tablecloth, guaranteed to brighten up even the dullest, darkest day.
The mornings, however, are still a totally different matter. It is very dark until at least 8.00 am, and even later if the day is grey and overcast. For some reason this morning I was awoken at 3.30 am (probably Maurice le Souris on one of his nightly perambulations!!) I opened the bedroom window to get a bit of fresh air and within 15 minutes I could hear the first train of the day trundling through the station. Fifteen minutes after that the dawn chorus started although dawn was at least 3 1/2 - 4 hours away. I was a bit surprised to hear the birds so early but it was a lovely sound to drift back off sleep with.
My Nanna used to have a lovely phrase about daylight times - the day gets longer (or shorter) by a cocks' stride each day (cock being cockerel) which always amused me no end. Apparantly a cock's stride is about 2 minutes in Yorkshire.....
Posted by: Claire | 01/15/2008 at 10:21 AM