So, let's talk about Daylight Savings Time. Or rather, the end of it. I find it odd to never have noticed before that the end of DST feels exactly like a curtain falling. Going from light at 5:00 pm to dark at 5:00 pm this year was kind of a surprise, which is pretty weird since it's happened every year for a very long time. Or so I thought, but we'll get to that in a minute. Here's another odd thing; DST does not resume until March 11, 2012. That means DST ends six and a half weeks BEFORE the winter solstice, but doesn't go back into effect until eleven and a half weeks AFTER the solstice. To a person who loves symmetry, that is disturbing. Who made that call, and why wasn't I consulted?
It turns out that's a very interesting question. I mean the "who made that call?" part. So interesting, in fact, that David Prerau wrote a whole book about it called Seize the Daylight. Apparently, Daylight Savings Time has been quite a bone of contention since it's inception just after the turn of the twentieth century. And contrary to what I thought, DST has not been in use continuously since then. Not at all. People have been turning it on and off like a child with a light switch pretty much since it was invented.
The study of the dark, cold, wet season on San Juan Island continues. Now we are past the rude slap in the face that is the end of Daylight Savings Time, where are we on the timeline of winter? It's three weeks till the solstice, this year it's December 21st. I know the solstice is the beginning of winter, but I've always thought December 21st should be the middle of winter. Officially, winter lasts from December 21 to March 21, but that just seems wrong, since December 21st is the shortest day of the year. Shouldn't THAT be the middle of winter? Again, a plea for symmetry here.
The harshest winter weather definitely comes in January and February even though the days increase in length after December 21st. This is not splitting hairs. It's all in the cause of surviving winter at 48 degrees latitude. Psychologically as well as physically. We know there is a lag time before the days begin to grow warmer. The land and everything on it has been losing heat and it takes time for that to turn around, even after the hours of daylight are increasing each day. But it seems to me light in the sky is the important thing isn't it? Isn't it the lack of light, not the lack of warmth that leads to Seasonal Affective Disorder? Yes it's warmer on September 21st than on March 21st usually, that's true. I'm a bit ashamed to say this, but some of us avoid going out in the cold anyway, so shouldn't it really be about the light?
I'd like to make a case for at least psychologically sticking a flag in December 21st and calling it the middle of winter. Then when March 21st comes around and it's wet and cold, at least we can say, "yes, but it's light!" Take a stand and refuse to let winter be nine months long here. So many of our experiences just come down to what we believe about them anyway. September is often glorious here. Follow that by just three months until the solstice, declare the solstice the middle of winter, tack on another three months of holing up with good books and hot chocolate, declare the spring equinox to be the end of winter, buy a ticket to a warm place for a week and come back looking for signs of spring.
Speaking of changing what we experience, for me, the studying of winter is definitely making winter less oppressive this year. And part of my study is looking at the joys of winter in Friday Harbor. So far the inventory includes woodstoves, waterproof boots and dry socks, knitting homemade socks to wear in waterproof boots, adding eggnog to a cup of coffee and sipping slowly, early nights with a good book, electric blankets (or whatever more eco-friendly substitute you choose - I recommend chihuahuas over rocks heated on a woodstove, chihuahuas like to sleep under the covers and provide a surprising supply of non-electric warmth), hats, scarves, gloves, parkas. Anything WARM! I'm a bit reclusive as you can tell, but I'll agree potlucks and hot toddies with friends are good too.
Whatever it takes people! The curtain that is the end of Daylight Savings Time has fallen. This spring I'm going to ignore the late date Daylight Savings Time begins as being a sign of anything, and simply declare someone somewhere has it wrong. Cheers, and take heart, winter on the island is fast approaching it's midpoint which I declare to be the solstice. And just in time, as we approach the darkest day, lights are coming on all over the island. Add to the list of joys of winter here the coming of the lighted boat parade and Santa riding in on the sheriff's boat. The lighted snow flakes are up on the light poles downtown, and soon Memorial Park will be aglow with lights as well. I'm determined to find a way to love winter here, in part by celebrating the solstice as the turning point, as a way of psychologically flipping the switch that starts the motor that lifts the curtain.
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