Seasonal changes

It is starting to get darker earlier now. It’s 8.20pm, and although it is still light, what light is left will soon be gone. I love the light nights in the summer months, and the sunsets are glorious, but the seasons have to follow their cycle, so the sun will be setting earlier very soon indeed.

I happen to like the winter months too. It’s easier to sleep at night if I decide to have an early night, for one! But if I need to sleep in the summer, the light doesn’t stop me then either, so that isn’t really a very valid reason. It’s also a lot easier to get warm in winter than it is to get cool in summer – which can also cause problems with sleeping, but again, eventually I regulate my temperature, so that’s not a problem either.

I remember years ago, I used to work the night shift. I loved working nights in winter. When I finished work at 7am it was still dark. I’d drive home as quickly as I could, dive into bed, and go to sleep before the sun rose. Occasionally,  I’d sleep all day and wake up when it was dark too. Whenever this happened, I used to imagine myself living the cool life of a vampire. Only instead of going out at night hunting, I’d be stuck in an office working. That wasn’t quite as cool, but it had to be done. Those short days didn’t last long, and within a short period of time, the mornings were starting to get light again as I was driving home. And then at the other end of the day, I’d be driving to work with a little bit of daylight still hanging on – a bit like the light now, in fact.

I always get a little mixed up with the names at this time of the day. Evening, sunset, dusk, nightfall… I think the evening is just before the sun sets, sunset is, well, when the sun sets, dusk is just after the sun has set but it is still light, and nightfall is when the light has gone. That’s how I see it anyway.

I mentioned earlier that the sunsets are glorious. The sky becomes completely different with oranges, reds and yellows mixing with blues, purples, greys and whites. You can’t really complain about the days being shorter when there is that fabulous display to look forward to at the end of the day, can you?

I’ve found a couple of images on the web which sum up what I mean:

I’ve just noticed that the sky in the first picture (the reds and oranges) are very similar in colour to my aura, when I had that photographed a few weeks ago – I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before!

I know some people prefer the warmth of the summertime to the chill of winter, and sometimes I think I do too, but on the crisp, clear, dry days in winter, taking myself off for a brisk walk really clears my head and invigorates me. There’s something about all of the seasons that I like. The new leaves in the spring, the warm sun in the summer, the autumn colours, and the freshness of winter are just a few.

Each day passes in turn. Each month passes in turn. Each season passes in turn. I actually like the differences. I don’t think I would really appreciate things as much if it stayed the same all of the time. The contrast is there to highlight what we actually do like. I think I’m lucky because I like it all! 🙂