In January most people notice the days are getting a little longer. Unless they live in a place like Portland. In Portland the cloud cover keeps mornings dark and brings twilight early and the dark of night snap quick right after sunset. So it does not seem like much has changed from December when sunlight was as scarce as it gets in the northern hemisphere.
Then a day comes when the clouds are taking a break from covering the region. It’s sunny again! And the strong morning light comes through windows that have only passed a feeble grey glow for months. For hours and hours of bright eye squinting light infuses green shoots with life and vigor that wasn’t there yesterday. Or was it? Was it there and just not visible in the gloom? Evening comes, taking its own good sweet time about it. Twilight stays at its table for an extra dessert. Night arrives eventually, everyone understands its delay in arrival.
Spring! All of a sudden, is here. Or so it seems on the first day in weeks or months with unobscured sunshine.
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