November 12th, 2007
Winter is a’comin’ …
There’s a few subtle reminders that Jack Frost is right around the corner – even in this fair part of North Carolina.
- If I leave my car outside for the night, there’s the audible sound of cold windshield wipers scraping over a very thin layer of frost on the glass.
- When I take Sydney for a walk in the morning, the first breath of “outside” air has that crisp, invigorating feeling like no other. It’s a feeling I knew all too well in Calgary, starting in early September and persisting until May.
- The days are getting shorter. Daylight savings time really put a cramp on that; the sun is well into its descent on my drive home. Again, this was even more notable in Calgary, where sunset during this time of the year comes at around 4:45 PM, and the sun doesn’t peek back up until about 9:30 AM. (for those of you not from Raleigh, sunset is currently 5:10 PM and sunrise is around 6:45 AM)
The funny thing is, I still *really* look forward to this time of the year. Autumn is the most liminal season for me; much more than a simple metaphor for dying leaves and the first snowfalls. Autumn marks the last full season in the calendar year, and the first semester in the traditional school year. It’s a remarkable confabulation of holidays; Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving and Christmas at the tail-end, with Veterans Day (Remembrance Day for my fellow Canucks) and Hanukkah thrown in for good measure. (OK, I know some of these are technically “winter” holidays, but they’re close enough – and we *are* talking about liminality, right?)
Good day, eh?