DEBORAH CROMBIE: Ooh, that sounds like a daytime soap opera, doesn't it? But it's a little more poetic than the "shortening days"--or autumn, for those of us in the northern hemisphere at the moment. I know that this is something that most people dread, but I am one of the small number of people who LOVE the drawing in of days, and it's not just because they signal the end of our horrible Texas summers.
(Love autumn colors and these fabulous pincushion mums!)
I've always thought there was something so atmospheric and romantic about the shadows of early dusk and the glow of lamplight. The shorter days stimulate my imagination and give me a big creative boost–I do my best writing in autumn and winter (and also at night.)
I love the spare beauty of autumn and winter landscapes, and I also love gray days. Not even living through Edinburgh winters cured me. I seem to have been born wired for someplace like Seattle.
Or England…
Fellow REDs, do you find the shorter days give you a chance to creatively recharge?
HALLIE EPHRON: I confess I love the longer days, but then we don’t have the heat you have had in Texas.
One of my favorite things is to sit outside at around 6 with a glass of wine, listen to the birds, and watch the clouds show off (usually with swallows WAY HIGH UP zooming and whistling) as the sun starts to set.
Now it’s already darkening by 6, and the temperature has dipped so I need extra layers. And yesterday I found myself in the mood to make tomato sauce and lasagne… another sure sign that the days are getting shorter and winter is on the way.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yes, such an interesting thought..I kind of love them, too. I don’t mind the dark, or darkening days, and it’s cozy. (Er, traditional.) And bleak, yes, that’s okay, too…for a while. It’s interesting that you call it recharging. I never thought of it that way, but yes,I see that. But I do love wrapping myself in shawls and scarves and sweaters on even Uggs..it’s so comfortable, and reassuring, definitely conducive to writing.
Most of our birds have vanished..it’s so fascinating. We used to have a yard full of creatures..now they all seem to be retreating, too. Now there’s just a cardinal duet and a couple of blue jays.
(I remember in the height of my general assignment reporter days–we used to love it when it was dark for the 6pm news live shots and we could use lights. One looks so much better with good lighting against a black sky! Just a little occupational note.)
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank, would you say it’s in the bleak… midwinter? (Badum-tsss!)
I like the shortening days, not so much for the change in light, but for the cooler weather, and the chance to start a fire in the woodstove and, as I did last week, to make a slow cooker stew! I always remind myself that the early sunsets and later mornings are the price we play for the days that stretch on to nine o’clock in June and July. I’ve spent enough time in Hawai’i to experience the equatorial twelve hours light, twelve hours dark, and it always seems odd to me.
RHYS BOWEN: I’m one who does not look forward to shortening days. The bleak midwinter (good title!) was one of the reasons I fled from England to Australia. Like Hallie I love to sit outside on my balcony with a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. I especially love this in Europe when the sun sets at nine or ten
I notice our evening walks have already been pushed forward to six. Soon it will be five. I am not at my creative best during dark days!
JENN McKINLAY: I love the darkening days. I am more creative at night and in winter, as well. But I also have glorious daytime weather so the early darkness isn’t as oppressive. AZ doesn’t do dreary.
READERS, are you inspired by the shorter days? And do you have a favorite autumn novel? The first autumn novel that made an indelible impression on me was A WRINKLE IN TIME!
