Winter Solstice

Today was the shortest day of the year, with the sun rising at 8:16 am and the sun setting at 3:56 pm. When compared to Madison, WI, where the sun rose at 7:26 am and set at 4:25 pm, it's evident that we are quite a bit further north (same latitude as central Canada and southern Alaska).

The shorter days are barely noticeable on weekdays here. Leaving work at 5:00, it doesn't really phase me if the sun sets at 3:56 or 4:25. However, I do not enjoy waiting for my bus in the dark at 7:45 am! Summer, of course, provides longer days here which I enjoyed when we first arrived in August. I'm really hoping to get up to Iceland, Norway, Sweden or Finland during the summer to experience 24 hours of sunlight. However, I have no desire to experience what is known as a polar night, which is 24 hours of darkness.

We're lucky to be living on an island because otherwise the temperatures here would be quite a bit colder given our latitude. The climate here is known as a maritime climate which means we experience cool summers and mild winters, with a much smaller annual temperature range. The wind and rain can be horrible, but I have to say that I really like the mild winter temperatures. Everyone is freaking out this week because the low temperatures are expected to dip below freezing...it'll be our first frost of the year!