A Glimmer of Light
An automatic night light in the bathroom keeps me from stumbling into the bathtub or worse in the dark. Its sensor turns it on when the room is dark, then turns it off when there’s other light. For the next several months of feeble light of the Fall and winter in practice it will be on all of the time because there is rarely enough natural light to activate the sensor. It will stay on except when I turn on the ceiling fixture.
It was quite a surprise this morning to find that there was enough natural light to activate the sensor of that night light.
Could it have been a parting gift of Mother Nature on this last day of Daylight Saving time?
As of Sunday, night will begin falling before 5:00p, today’s 6:00p. which already feels far too early for it to be dark outside. Already the time between sunrise and sunset is less than 10 hours, but daytime is actually even shorter than that because like me, the sun is usually reluctant to start the day and starts fading long before it sets.
Coming from the Tropics where it’s almost always 12 hours of daylight and 12 of night throughout the year, I still marvel at the varying lengths of day that accompany the seasons.
6 comments:
Louis, The sun in the tropic decided to share the time equally 12 hours for daytime and 12 hours for night. I think we got a different sun out here.
Enjoy you smart lighting. Take care.
You sure have a different sun out there: this one doesn't know it's supposed to give heat either. It is shining brilliantly but the temperature is just 11 C outside. A sun as bright as this in the Tropics would roast a person.
We don't get to see such changes in Malaysia.
CK Lam
Thanks for visiting my blog.
As for our time changes, look at it this way: In Malaysia you are spared the chore of resetting your clocks twice a year, and losing an hour of your sleep every Spring :)
Louis,
I think I know how you feel. In Southern Ontario, we miss the sun just as much. Imagine the sky darkening around 4:30 pm! You could make a fortune selling anti-depressants at the street corner.
This time of year, one good thing to look forward to are the colourful Christmas light displays (they'll start going up after Remembrance Day, I think). And the extended darkness brings out the beauty of those lights.
But once the Christmas lights come down, it's a looong, cold haul before we get some decent light again.
In the meantime, I'll keep going to that street corner :)
Adirya,
There is actually a recognized mental health condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) around which has developed an industry. In addition to professional medical care, there are salons that offer "light therapy", various electronic items and sheer quackery widely advertised.
Perhaps bears have the definitive solution: curl up and sleep through the entire winter gloom.
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