I am attaching my photos for November. As you can see, we had a small
amount of snow last week. It was very late - we usually have snow on the
ground (that stays and does not melt) by about 7 October. October was
very mild this year and also with clear skies during most of the days.
The snow that finally remained on the ground fell during 27 - 29 Oct.
I have been trying to take my photos on the 3rd day of every month
although I know that sometimes I have been a day or two late. However,
when it was time to take the photos for this month I realized I needed
to be a little more flexible due to the decreasing daylight and needed
to take the picture on a day I was home from work. If I had waited until
today, the 3rd, it would have been too dark before I left for work and
too dark by the time I returned home! So, since I took yesterday as a
day off from work I took my picture then, 1 day early.
We are currently losing daylight at the rate of about 7 minutes each
day. Today in Ester, the sun will rise at 845 am and will set at 425 pm,
giving us 7 hours and 40 minutes of daylight. By the end of the month,
we will be down to a little less than 5 hours of daylight. By Winter
Solstice, 21 December, the shortest day of the year, the sun will just
peak over the horizon and be up for only 3 hrs and 39 minutes before
setting.
Although that sounds like it must be dark all of the time, which some
people dislike, it is really a lovely time of the year. Yes, it can be
very dark but when the moon is full (such as last night) it is so bright
it often seems brighter at night than during the day when the sun is so
low! Since the angle of the sun is so low this time of year, it casts a
lovely glow during dawn and dusk. The light can be golden or pink and is
very beautiful. Also, we do our best star gazing during winter and also
enjoy looking at the northern lights, when they are visible.
We are eagerly looking forward to more snow so we can ski and snow shoe.
That is the best part about winter!
