The seasonal shift in the angle which the sun’s path takes through the sky is more noticeable the further north you go. In Saskatoon the difference between summer and winter was more pronounced than here, illustrating just how magnificently varied geography makes our lives.
Each autumn I allow my attention to be caught by the shifting light. The way that dawn’s light is something I awake in advance of, working my way through the darkened house on quiet feet. I sit in front of the powerful glare of the light-box, keeping the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder at bay for another winter.
Slowly this quiet, personal time melts into a more active and public time as the others of the house stir. Dawn’s grey forerunners appear to the east. I cast an eye out the kitchen window, wondering if there will be oranges this time, or perhaps even vibrant purples. Sometimes the sunrise in the east fires up the sky to the west of our yard, transforming the common alleyway and its accompanying wires into something akin to art.
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The sun’s path is low enough to dip into the bathroom mid-morning. A bright, searing light that plays with the stained glass and the paint colours. This morning I was struck by the way that the moment offered up a self-portrait opportunity, highlighting the way that the colours of the day and the emotions of my heart were playing together.
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Some days offer so many opportunities to allow the mind to zoom, zoom, zoom into a moment and freeze it for a time. You know, that way we snapshot our visual delight.
This outfit is my favourite these days, marrying comfort with an urban autumnal look. I found the cardigan for $3 at Value Village and am enjoying the collar and the 3/4 length sleeves enough to think of knitting a version of it. The scarf, yes, a small shawl, is my version of the Baktus/Karius one-skein pattern that is such a delight.
Yarn: Foot Loose, Harlequin colour
Pattern: Baktus/Karius
Shortened days seem to emphasise the truism that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. In summer we take the light for granted while we glory in the heat. In winter, we glory in the light and those things which bring us heat.
May you glory in your light. May you savour that which brings you warmth.
Allow gratitude to soak through you.
Handmade Homeschool 
Beautiful colours, and you’re right, we don’t really appreciate the light and heat until it’s gone.
have you found that the light-box really helps? i have been thinking about getting one of these to help this winter.
It has made all the difference. Truly. After my first winter with it, I looked at my husband and said, “You mean this is how you always go through a year? The same person 12 months in a row?” Because for the first time there wasn’t a Winter Sarah and a Summer Sarah. There weren’t massive carbohydrate cravings. I could get out of bed without a jackhammer before 8:30. The moodiness, the extreme doldrums, the horrid waiting of March – all gone.
My insurance plan even paid for it with a doctor’s note. The other treatment for SAD is anti-depressants, and this is far better for me, and for their pocketbook.