Sun! Yesterday we saw the first few patches of sunlight shining in on the walls.
Today, we all bundled up against the 30 below cold, and went out for a walk to soak up the rays. The sun is up over the hills, at least briefly, and the tree tops are all illuminated in its light. We'd pause wherever it broke through the forest, and stand with our faces upturned.
P exclaimed: "I feel like I'm gettin' a tan!"
In town right now, the sun shines on top of the Dome and the surrounding hills, but direct sunlight won't hit the streets or peek through windows for another couple of weeks.
It's amazing how we northerners come to celebrate the sun like this. I guess I always took it for granted, growing up in Ontario. Here, we celebrate the summer solstice with a big party on the Dome (a tradition since the gold rush days. Laura Berton talks about it in her book "I Married the Klondike"). Winter solstice is usually celebrated on a more intimate scale, but celebrated nonetheless. And when you first see direct sunlight again, sometime in January, you run around town telling anyone who'll listen!
When do you notice the shorter days where you live? When do you first start to see the days lengthen?
I am lucky here in Faro. My house is on the side of the hill and we get a lot of light. It helps that we have three huge windows that take it all in.
ReplyDeleteWe used to live in the high arctic and went three weeks where the sun didn't come up and about three weeks on either end of that where the sun didn't touch town because of the hills. It has truly made me appreciate the year round sun that we get down here in the Yukon! Even when it is only a few hours worth a day.
Kara, I can't imagine what that would be like, 3 weeks without any sun! What a celebration that must be when the light finally hits town!
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