And so begins the darkness of long winter nights...

I know, it's not technically winter yet (and I guess, for those in the southern hemisphere, you've escaped its clutches for another year). But today, those of us who observe the peculiar habit of pushing our clocks backward for the summertime have gotten our first real taste of the long, dark, dreary haul to come.

Don't get me wrong, I love the night.

But while summer nights are like a celebration of the glorious day that has passed, winter nights bring with them the bitter taste of death, their endless darkness a cold reminder of the final fate of the universe. Soon, at least, the bright lights of Christmastime will help brighten the night for a while, light which will be reflected brilliantly by the snow that is yet to come. Then, the true depths of winter will set in through a long January and an impatient February, until the North finally begins to thaw and the budding hope of March leads into the uncontained energy of April and springtime's rebirth.

But for now, on a dreary November evening that all too soon followed a gloomy, rainy day, I mourn for yet another summer passed.

Will you mourn the passing of the sun with me?