Yearn to Wander

How many daylight hours are there?

On September 14th, we left Kalispell, where we noticed daylight hours had been declining. Why? We were:
- in the Mountain Time Zone (GMT -7, +1 for Daylight Saving Time) less than 100 miles east of the Pacific Time Zone boundary, so the sun sets later than farther east in the same time zone;
- between the 48 degree and 49 degree North parallels;
- a week away from the autumnal equinox, when daylight lasts for twelve hours everywhere on the Earth.

That week away arrived yesterday as we drove farther north in BC to see the salmon run. More on that later. On the way back, as the sun slid behind the mountains, Tom remarked about the shortening days. Yes, today is the Autumnal Equinox, so shorter and shorter days take us to the Winter Solstice, when we celebrate again.

This geography and time of year helped determine the length of our day. Yes, driven by the tilt of the Earth's axis. The geometry of it has fascinated me wherever I've traveled because it's easy to see the length of the day change at varying rates in different geographies. Different feelings come from the shortening angle in the more northerly climes, and watching days become shorter faster as we near the winter solstice.

I usually approach the autumnal equinox with a bit of weariness as days continue to shorten until the winter solstice. Then the weariness turns to relief as the days start to lengthen.

Yes, these thoughts are all from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere. Jen and Susie, we hope to experience these changes in the Southern Hemisphere, too. I'm envious you're starting spring.