Return of the light

The days are slowly getting longer and I am grateful.
There is a brief period of time in the weeks just before and after the winter solstice when it is too dark to let the chickens out before I leave for work and yet, by the time I get home, they are already in for the night.
With the chickens as our solar counters, it is possible to realize the lengthening days even when it is still dark in the morning when I rise. Each day the chickens stay outside a little longer, retreating into the safety of their coop only when they have determined that the light is insufficient for keeping night time predators away. The time they choose to go in varies a bit each day but as the days go by the variation is quite noticeable. And then, just a day ago, the first egg of the lengthening days appeared and today another: a sure sign that indeed the days are getting brighter.

People who walk by our house especially those with children often linger to watch the chickens running around in the yard. Inevitably there are chicken questions. The other day a couple with children were stopped at the gate as my granddaughter and I left for our walk to the light rail line. I said mostly in passing that we had found the first egg of the new year. One of the ladies asked, "is it because it is getting warmer?" But no, it is not. It is because the light is returning. I often explain to people who eat eggs year round that they are either eating eggs that have been refrigerated for months or else they are eating eggs from chickens who are forced with the use of artificial lighting to lay eggs year round. Most people really don't know this... or anything much about how the seasons affect the habits of the animals who assist them in their lives. Then again many people are only just learning about the habits and needs of the plants that serve them as well.

I have been walking about every other day down the trolley trail and into town. (Town is just a small suburban city outside the big city, but it is big enough to provide most needs if not the wants of people in the area.) The route I walk keeps me moving for about 30 minutes and then I am at a small coffee shop where  can buy an almond milk-half-caff latte for a whole dollar cheaper than in the big city where I go to work. With my latte in hand I can then catch the light rail back home and feel quite refreshed. I love seeing how Earth is beginning to respond to the longer days. Walking the same route allows me to see a progression of little things; small sprouts, water eddies, buds and the evidence of little creatures - and big ones as well.

Today my daughter came to walk with me. We walked into town and I bought my latte while she waited as she was already "coffeed up" for the day. Then we caught the light rail to the next stop where we could easily access a hiking/biking trail that goes through a nature preserve. It was lovely to walk and talk even though the rain was coming down quite steadily. We walked down into the nature area by a creek that has the bad habit of flooding when the rains are particularly intense. The water was rushing along but well within its bounds. We could see where the Park's people had marked the water height during the most recent flood and we were aware of people camping in the dense forested areas. My daughter wondered about their safety near a creek that is prone to flood, while I thought it was a shame that people are forced to camp in the woods in the rain in this wealthy country.

Along the way I could not help but stop to pick up garbage. The returning light always seems to bring out a number of human creatures who can't clean up after themselves. I would rather just pick it up than let the garbage continue to grow in the midst of the other growing things. By the time we got back to the light rail we were wet through and through but I had the good fortune to have gained new insights from my intelligent and thoughtful daughter-- which is of course another way for light to return.