Spring Is Sprung and Mud is Made

I am told that it is meteorological spring here; where I live half-way between the equator and the North Pole.

In the Northern Hemisphere this is defined as the three-month period of March, April and May - commencing on March 1 and ending on May 31.  It is used by meteorologists and climatologists to align seasons with annual temperature cycles and to simplify the collection of weather data instead of using the varying dates of the astronomical equinox like the rest of us nerdy stargazers do.  But I digress.

What I know for sure is that when you score a 60F day you take your canine sidekick out for a run and let her explore the melting edges of the ice-covered pond and creek.

For sure it is Mud Season after all...  

 

 

Another Post Blizzard Report

I took this photo last night following the Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club’s annual trivia contest.

There has been considerable melting following the blizzard from a week ago.

Nevertheless, there were kids climbing and sliding on the BP’s Matterhorn at Michigan and Third Avenue.  In the foreground is the snow still bordering the sidewalk.

Nuts.

As for the trivia, hoping for a four-peat First, our Team took Second Place.

Rats.

 

Scratching Your Druid Itch

 

06.08.24 Stonehenge

The ancient Druids did not build Stonehenge.  As a matter of fact, as a consequence of a timeline mismatch they had nothing to do with it.  This monument was constructed during the Neolithic and Bronze Age and predates them by more than 1000 years.  This was long before the Celtic Druids appeared in Britain.  Any association is a 17th-century myth, although ancient Druids may have used the site for rituals just as modern-day Druids do.

As the sun grows warmer we notice small signs of life beneath our feet.  First are the crocuses and daffodils, followed by the bluebells and wood anemones. Many of us view these emergent plants as mere greenery.  Druids see life in all living things including springs, creeks, rivers, rocks and stones.  In Druidry all life is sacred.

One of the great mysteries is the Druid's egg.  Life-giving, it is the egg protected by the hare, which is the symbol of Alban Eilir, - the Festival of the Spring Equinox which means The Light Of The Earth.  As Christianity supplanted pagan festivals Christians today celebrate Easter with eggs courtesy of the Easter bunny.

Happy vernal equinox.   

The astronomical arrival of spring is a consequence of the earth’s tilt on its axis as it orbits around the sun.  Equinox from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) means the the earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.  On this date the sun rises exactly due east and set exactly due west with sunlight striking both hemispheres of the earth equally.   Night and day are approximately equal in length. 

As you observe the movement of the sun across the sky each day you will note that it is shifting toward the north.  Birds and butterflies begin their northward migration as a response to this change in daylight following the path of the sun.

 

It would be premature to pack-away your winter outerwear, return the snow shovels to the shed or plant a garden.  Nevertheless, this is a harbinger of the arrival of astronomical spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere.  

 

The official start time will be tomorrow, March 20, at about 9:46 AM CST (give or take). 

Astronomers base season cycles upon the position of the earth in relation to the sun.  The beginning of Astronomical Spring or the Vernal Equinox marks the time when the sun passes directly above the equator.  Meteorological spring is based-upon annual temperature cycles.  Your weatherman will tell your that meteorological spring begins March 1 and goes thru the end of May.

 

No matter how you slice it the days will grow longer, the temperatures warmer and mud season is in full swing.

Sockdolager!

Forecast was for a cessation of snowfall by 4 PM. Took these shots before 3:30. The sun is shining and the wind continues to howl out of the north. Gusts up to 60+ MPH are absolutely brutal. 

 

 

Look like we got at about 27-30 inches on the level. Reports suggest Sturgeon Bay got 35+. 

The drifts are amazing.

 

Businesses, schools and churches are closed with many of the town roads impassable. We’re on a county road and will get further attention after the state highways are completed. No power outages for us but half of the statewide total is confined to the peninsula. 

 

Waiting on our plow guy to take a stab at clearing the driveway so I can fetch the blower from the machine shed and finish digging out. 

 

Winter Storm Elsa was a whopper two day nor'easter; a real Sockdolager! 

About Those Signs Of Spring

Spoke too soon about springtime.

When you live half-way between the equator and the North Pole the month of March can throw you a curve ball from time to time.

Woke-up today to this.

Business has been brisk at the bird feeders all day with the arrival of more of the summertime species in the past week.  So doggo and I went out to top them-off and deployed an additional two suet feeders.

Presently it looks like there is 8 to 10 inches of snow on the level, with another 18 to 20 in the next twenty four hours.  We got a regular nor'easter on our hands with winds coming off the lake gusting to 40 miles per hour.

Snug here with a nonstop fire in the wood burner since last evening.  We even had bacon with breakfast; because, there's a blizzard going on.

No power outages (yet).

Everything is closed except the local watering hole  Come to think about it the only way to get there is by snowmobile.....  

 

Signs of Spring

It is officially spring here in the northern hemisphere meteorologically-speaking.   

Meteorological seasons are conveniently divided into tidy calendar months.  The seasons begin on the first day of the months that include the equinoxes and solstices:  Thusly, spring runs from March 1 to May 31; summer runs from June 1 to August 31; fall (autumn) runs from September 1 to November 30; and winter runs from December 1 to February 28 (February 29 in a leap year).   

The astronomical definition uses the dates of equinoxes and solstices to mark the beginning and end of the seasons:  Spring begins on the spring equinox; summer begins on the summer solstice; fall (autumn) begins on the fall equinox; and winter begins on the winter solstice. The beginning of each season marks the end of the last.   

Because the timings of the equinoxes and solstices change each year, the length of astronomical seasons within a year and between years also varies.       

If you want to keep it simple remember this and this alone:  The arrival of the male redwing blackbirds to stake out their breeding territories is a harbinger of spring and has always been my benchmark for the official start.    On March 7 the first one arrived precisely on-time.  Now there are vast flocks of them.

And If you have a sporting dog in your household this also marks the beginning of mud season.  

Raising a toast to the janitor slop sink and hot and cold running water.... 

Backyard Birding

On the recommendation of my pal, Braumeister, at the start of last  month I hung the contraption you see below from a branch on a red maple in our yard.  It is a bird feeder that you fill with peanuts.  Peanuts in the shell; raw and unsalted.   

I bought a big bag of nuts at a local bird food joint.  And while they're clearly labeled:  NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION I suppose if I tried one I don't think it would kill me.  But you never know.  

It took a few days for the local birds to figure-out what it's for and now I'm restocking it almost twice a week.  

In any event the trail camera I installed to monitor who might like peanuts needed to be rearranged.  It needed to have its back to the sun so that subjects were appropriately lit.  It took a couple of tries to get the focal length correct.  Trim some branches and there was the opportunity cost of losing several days of potential photos as a consequence of an improperly-formatted SD card.  Mind you, the camera is old too.  Originally-deployed during COVID in 2020 it is quite frail and could fail catastrophically just about any time.  Nevertheless, being the cheap SOB that I am I intend to squeeze every last gigabyte of digital imagery out of this old Moultrie device as I can.

So, here's an update

Yours-truly wrangling and wrassling the gizmo one of countless times to get it situated 

Blue jay

White-breasted nuthatch

Red-breasted nuthatch

Pileated woodpecker

Downy woodpecker

Black-capped chickadee

And a hairy woodpecker

Altogether a nice collection of some of the year-round bird residents.  The migrators are beginning to arrive so it will be interesting to note if any of them like peanuts.

Stay-tuned....  

 

Lock The Clock

If you’re like me this semiannual switch between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time is madness.  Today I lost an hour of sleep and in November after I set my clock back an hour I’ll still get out of bed in the dark to turn the coffee on.  At the end of the day I’ll pour myself a glass of Merlot in the dark.  This resetting of the clocks is messing with my circadian rhythms.

Daylight Saving Time is associated with the Western world as most countries outside Europe and North America don't observe the ritual. 

Courtesy of CNN research the notion of Daylight Saving Time has a curious pedigree.

1784 - The idea of daylight saving is first conceived by Benjamin Franklin.

1914-1918 - Britain goes on DLS during World War I.

March 19, 1918 - The Standard Time Act establishes time zones and daylight saving. Daylight saving is repealed in 1919, but continues to be recognized in certain areas of the United States.

1945-1966 - There is no federal law regarding Daylight Saving Time.

1966 - The Uniform Time Act of 1966 establishes the system of uniform Daylight Saving Time throughout the United States. The dates are the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. States can exempt themselves from participation.

1974-1975 - Congress extends DLS in order to save energy during the energy crisis.

1986-2006 - Daylight Saving Time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October.

August 8, 2005 - President George W. Bush signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. Part of the act will extend Daylight Saving Time starting in 2007, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. 

 

In 2022, the Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act which would make daylight saving time permanent.  The House did not pass it and then-President Biden did not sign it.  Whether the second session of the 119th Congress will pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 remains to be seen.  H.R. 139/S. 29 has not passed as of this moment.  The legislation, which proposes making daylight saving time permanent, was introduced in January 2025 but has remained stalled in committee, with low chances of passing, according to GovTrack.us and GovTrack.us. 

 

As for making Daylight Savings Time permanent there is evidence that the frequency of heart attack and stroke increases around the ritual resetting of clocks twice a year.  Benefits of Daylight Savings Time enhance public safety and make better economic sense.  Proponents of Daylight Saving Time argue that most people appreciate an increase in daylight hours after coming home from work.  

Speaking for myself - I like the notion of longer, lighter evenings and a happier more prosperous United States.  I like my clock precisely where it is.   

Make it permanent. 

 

Lock the clock.

March Astronomy - Blood Moon

The full moon for the month of March is frequently called the Full Worm Moon.  The backstory is because of the earthworms that wriggle out of the ground as the earth begins to thaw in March.  As a consequence some Native American Tribes referred to it as the Worm Moon and the return of robins to feast on the emerging worms.

The fact of the matter is that Northern tribes would not have embraced this name for the March moon as there were no earthworms. A Southern tribe maybe – but certainly not a Northern tribe.

Historically, earthworms did not exist in the northern reaches of continental North America. The ice sheets of the last glaciation wiped them out. All of the earthworms and night crawlers we see nowadays were introduced by European colonists – brought here in plant root balls and soil used as ship ballast. That’s right – earthworms are an invasive species.  But I digress.

Northern American tribes such as the Shawnee tribe know this as the Sap Moon - a reminder for the tribes that they can begin tapping maple trees for the making of syrup.

In general, March’s full moon is known as a herald for the beginning of spring and new agricultural cycles. The European settlers referred to this as the Lenten Moon and as a way to measure the progress of their crops. They called it the Storm Moon if the weather was inclement – an indicator their crops might fail. Under ideal growing conditions they called it the Rugged Moon – a sign of a successful harvest that year.

One of its other names is the Chaste Moon, symbolizing the purity of early spring. The Pueblo tribe named it the Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, The Cree called it the Goose Moon, while in Shoshone culture it was known as the Warming Moon. The Ojibwa called it the the Crows Come Back Moon, after the crows and other birds that appear as winter draws to a close.  It is also called the Crust Moon, because of the snow that becomes crusty when it thaws in the sun and freezes in the moonlight.

The moon will be at its fullest tomorrow evening although to the casual observer it will appear full this evening.

There's a bonus this year; a total lunar eclipse.  This full moon will pass directly through the Earth's umbral shadow producing a total lunar eclipse visible to about 2.5 billion people (a third of the world population) across North America, Australia, New Zealand East Asia and the Pacific.  At my latitude the action will unfold around 3:50 AM Tuesday morning with the first "bite" out of the moon beginning.  Totality will commence at 5:04 AM and at maximum eclipse, 5:33 AM, the moon will be fully in the earth's shadow and it will appear reddened - a Blood Moon.  Totality will end at 6:02 AM and, depending-upon your precise location, the moon will set around 6:26 - 6:33 AM.  

Viewing Tips:  Look toward the west/northwest and find a clear, unobstructed view of the western horizon as the moon will be very low in the sky at totality.  If you live in the city, Newport State Park is designated as a 'Dark Sky Park' and a prime viewing location.  If you live in flyover country like me you'll likely have near-optimal viewing conditions.  Lastly, this is a lunar eclipse and no special eye protection is needed.  If  you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope - use them.

Fingers-crossed for clear, early morning skies...

 

 

Edit to add:

 

My view west of the lunar eclipse Tuesday morning at 4:48 am.

Sigh....

 

Friday Fish Fry

‘Tis the Lenten Season. Yet, just because it is Lent is not to imply starvation. 

It is Friday. And in the Roman Catholic tradition of the Christian faith there is a fish fry.  Wild-caught pickerel (walleye) from our friendly neighbors north of the border. 

The secret is a light brining of the fillets, a dusting of seasoned Wondra flour, dip in egg wash and Panko crumbs.

Fry in hot canola oil, turn only once. 

Pretty good chow if you can get it.

By the way. See how light it is at quarter of 6?  Daylight savings is only a little more than a week away.

Fake Spring

Three days in a row of spring-like weather with sunshine, melting snow and outdoor temps venturing into the mid-50s.  There is even rain in the forecast.

Hmmm.... 

Sure feels like spring; but I've been to this rodeo before and I am no fool.  We're gonna see a drop in temps, a return to snow and maybe even a blizzard or two with possibilities of such nonsense extending into April.

This ephemeral meteorological phenomenon is what is known as Fake Spring.

For the present what we know for sure is paw prints covering the porch confirm that Mud Season has commenced.  Consequently, a freshly-laundered supply of dog towels are on the rack above the janitor slop sink in the garage.

  

Winter Adaptations

Getting-up before sunrise, flipping-on the coffeemaker and taking note of the single digit temperatures is a huge change compared to rising to the double-digit negative temps of only a couple of weeks ago.  Change like this makes me ponder whether springtime is lurking just around the corner?  Nah.  I digress.    How do the resident critters that make their home around here adapt and adjust to harsh winter weather conditions anyway?

The short answer is that wildlife does have adaptations to the seasons and this time of year they manifest as both physical change, behavior or a combination of the two. 

Thinking of the critters that show-up most frequently on the trail cameras; the resident whitetails, raccoons, coyotes, fox and other mammalian species all grow a thicker coat of hair and fur that absorbs sunlight, and provides camouflage properties to avoid detection by predators.  Additionally, this fur coat generally consists of several layers; the softer, thicker layer adjacent to the skin traps air and retains body heat.  Next to this undercoat is an outer layer of guard hairs that repels rain, snow and wind.  

So efficient is this winter-wear that the snow accumulating on a whitetail doesn't even get close to melting....

 

 

Never Grab A Groundhog

Did you know that New Jersey is running out of groundhogs?  Ever since Milltown Mel passed-away, this New Jersey town has faced a groundhog crisis.  Now the governor has vetoed an effort to import out-of-state replacement rodents.  Not so in neighboring Pennsylvania.   

Groundhog Day is a big event every year on this day over in Gobbler's Knob.   

Someone provokes a hibernating woodchuck named Punxsutawney Phil to come out of his hole and predict the arrival of spring.

Even I can do that.  Provoked by the alarm clock I crawled out of a perfectly warm bed this morning at 5:30 AM, poured myself a steaming cuppa joe and browsed news feeds on my laptop. It was snowing.  I therefore concluded more winter before the arrival of spring.

The man in the picture above is a fool.  You should never grab a groundhog - especially if you are going to wave it around in the air over your head.

From the Algonquian wuchak.  Also known as the whistle pig – Marmota monax belongs to the vast squirrel family. They are big rodents.

They are also sinister-looking with their small ears, beady black eyes and very sharp teeth to go with all of their claws.  I wouldn’t grab a groundhog any sooner than I'd make a grab for a beaver or a porcupine. They are capable of biting through a human hand.  They are all much too dangerous.

Trust me.  I know this.

I have had to deal with multiple critters infestations under my barn. This includes everything from bunnies, to raccoons to kittens.  One year I had a groundhog.  And that bugger was burrowing furiously.

Groundhogs are well-adapted miners.  They have short but powerful legs and very sharp claws.  They are capable of excavating hundreds of pounds of dirt.   And this fella was chucking enough dirt that it wouldn’t be long before he seriously undermined the structural integrity of the barn foundation.

Shooting a woodchuck is against the law in Wisconsin. Yep. They’re protected – just like badgers and wolves.  Not wanting to draw the attention of the local game warden and pleading a landowner exception I opted for the old reliable method.

Mothballs.

I poured a box of mothballs down the woodchuck’s hole.  Oh sure, your barn will smell like grandma for awhile but critters cannot stand mothballs.  And it worked almost immediately for me.

I was puttering in the machine shed when old Phil (smelling strangely of naphthalene) waddled his way into the shed and gave me the hairy eyeball.  He was not happy.  Actually, he was angry to the point of provocation because he reared-up on his hind legs and gave me a nasty bark.

Taking a machete from the peg board I waved it menacingly and told him to get the heck out of my shed.

He scurried away retreating behind a sheet of plywood leaning against the wall.

I grabbed a garden rake and thrust it in his face.

He snorted and whistled and parried back with his claws. 

Claw for claw - back and forth we went. Parry and thrust. I was gaining the upper hand and Phil was losing ground.

Finally forced from the shed he scurried a safe distance from the crazy guy with the rake, turned and gave me a dirty look and waddled-off in the direction of a neighboring farm.

Nasty attitude the groundhog has.

Dangerous too.

 *This post was first published on the JSOnline WauwatosaNOW Gas Pains blog on February 2, 2010.

Winter Adaptations

 

Sunrise the other day dawned at a brisk -4F (feels like -15F).  And while we have to deal with decisions about venturing outside our process has more to do with is it just taking the dog out to go potty, are we going out for an hour to check trail cameras or is this a trip to town for a scheduled meeting or a gallon of milk or do I have to dress for a Packer game at Lambeau Field.

All of the foregoing involve different sub-decisions about how to layer-up or is the trip even necessary.  How do the resident critters that make their home around here adapt and adjust?

The short answer is that wildlife does have adaptations to the seasons and this time of year they manifest as both physical change, behavior or a combination of the two. 

Thinking of the critters that show-up most frequently on the trail cameras; the resident white tails, raccoons, coyotes, fox and other mammalian species all grow a thicker coat of hair and fur that absorbs sunlight, and provides camouflage properties avoid detection by predators.  Additionally, this fur coat generally consists of several layers; the softer, thicker layer adjacent to the skin traps air and retains body heat.  Next to this undercoat is an outer layer of guard hairs that repels rain, snow and wind.  

As I observe the dark-eyed juncos scratching in the snow beneath my bird feeders they look like grey on white puff balls.  They also have two layers of feathers to repel the elements and retain body heat.  This effect, related to goose bumps, is called piloerection and animals puff up their fur or feathers to not only look larger as a defense mechanism but also as a means of thermoregulation to conserve energy and retain heat.  

In the run-up to winter wild animals consume more calories to build-up stores of fat. This additional fat not only adds an extra layer of insulation it also is a store of energy reserves that can be metabolized during periods of food scarcity. 

Deer and rabbits modulate their circulatory systems (an evolutionary mechanism - not a parlor trick) such that blood vessels found in the ears and other extremities have reduced blood flow helping to retain core body temperature. 

Naturally, many animals (just like many of my neighbors and friends) beat it out of dodge before the Thanksgiving holiday and return with the warmer temperatures and lengthening days of springtime.  The herons, cranes, orioles and many other birds winter in warmer climes along with many of their warm season human neighbors.  

Other animals split the difference.  They don't migrate and they don't recreate; they hunker down to ride-out the winter.  The resident skunks, snakes, muskrats, salamanders, chipmunks, badgers, bears, turtles and other burrowing wildlife retire to their underground dens and enter a state of torpor or hibernation - a condition characterized by reduced metabolism where they survive on fat reserves or food caches over the winter season.  While our apex species, the whitetail deer, do not have a location or den; they do regulate their movement during the harshest winter conditions and seek bedding areas in thick conifer cover which provides browse and serves as a windbreak and thermal protection. 

Over millennia native wildlife have evolved and developed adaptations to managing all seasons and living conditions.  It is both remarkable to witness and not so remarkable to understand.  Get yourself a trail camera and situate it within view of a deer trail.  Over the course of a season you can use your citizen science skills to document the changes one animal undergoes as they go through their annual molt.

Winter Solstice

The hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice, sometimes called midwinter or astronomical winter.  More commonly known as the winter solstice this event occurs when the Sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.4 degrees. It is that point in time when the sun is exactly over the Tropic of Capricorn.  In other words - when the North Pole is tilted furthest away from the Sun.  If you are persnickety we will enjoy only 8 hours and 46 minutes of daylight today.

Meteorological winter is the three coldest months of the year which happen to be December, January and February in the northern hemisphere.  This system is used by meteorologists because it groups seasons into tidy 90 day temperature cycles convenient for tracking weather statistics. 

This is different from astronomical winter - which is based on the earth's position relative to the sun.  As a consequence, on this date for anyone residing in Antarctica (the South Pole)  - the opposite is true.  Today you would observe the Midnight Sun and enjoy 24 hours of sunlight.  For us living in the northern hemisphere tonight will be the longest night of the year.  This is to say that after this evening the daylight hours will begin to grow longer in the days and weeks to follow leading up to the Summer Solstice in June and the longest day of the year. 

If today is nice and sunny be sure to go outside at 9:03 AM to observe your shadow.  On the solstice your shadow is the longest it will be all year. 

Before bedtime you may want to go outside to observe the heavens and raise a toast to the winter solstice.  And maybe howl at the moon.

Fingers-crossed for cold, clear, winter night skies. 

Cheers!

*Edit to add:  I was up before sunrise, poured myself a cuppa joe, and shot an azimuth of the solstice sunrise. 

 

Winter Hunter Returns

Beginning last month and through February this constellation can be found traversing the southern night sky.  

Orion - a familiar image situated on the celestial equator - is one of the most recognizable constellations in the night sky.  Finding Orion's Belt is the easiest way to locate the Orion Constellation. Orion's Belt is formed by three bright stars; Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak. 

Named for Orion 'The Hunter' of Greek mythology the constellation's brightest stars are blue-white Rigel and red Betelgeuse. The most noticeable part of Orion is Orion’s Belt – with the alignment of three stars sure to catch your eye.  Hanging from The Hunter’s belt is a sword identified as three fainter stars. The central star of the sword is actually not a star at all – it is the Great Orion Nebula.

In the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere this time of year Orion appears to be lying on his side – with the Belt stars pointing upward – when he rises in the eastern sky.

click on the image for a closer look

This photo was taken a couple weeks ago with my iPhone 14 Pro at midnight, from the porch, looking south.  The unusual brightness is the timing of the photo with the December Cold Full Moon.  A larger and brighter Super Moon.

As the story goes - Orion hunted along the river Eridanus along with his ever-present dogs – Canis Major and Canis Minor.  With his dogs Orion stalked various celestial animals including Lepus the rabbit, and Taurus the bull. In the mythology of the ancient Greeks Orion was in love with Merope - one of the Seven Sisters forming the constellation Pleiades.  Alas, Merope spurned Orion’s advances. Tragically, the heartbroken Orion met his end when he was stung by Scorpious the scorpion.

Nevertheless, the gods were kind and they consequently fixed Orion permanently in the heavens with his two dogs. The creatures he hunted were placed in the sky as constellations as well. With foresight the gods exiled Scorpius to the opposite side of the heavens so that Orion would forever be safe from harm. 

Visibility peaks this month and January.  Raising a toast to cold, clear skies and star gazing.   

Cheers!

Cozy

More than 24 hours of heating with my almost lifetime supply of dead ash.

The only propane burned has been for the water heater and kitchen range. 

Raising a toast to better living thru renewables..... 

Fall Colors

Lest you think colorful fall foliage is done for the season; guess again.

I snapped this photo in the yard Wednesday afternoon.  The tamarack are beginning to turn a brilliant shade of gold in preparation for shedding their needles and the maple in the yard persists with its bold, crimson hue.  

Naturally, the dog photo bombed the moment I snapped the pic. 

'Tis The Season

Heating season that is.  Overnight lows have been in the forties lately and we've had a handful of hard frosts.  Consequently, I have to fetch the last of the firewood piled up at the north boundary to the porch under the lean-too of the granary and plant my wild ramps.  The former has to do with stove wood the latter has to do with the frosts.

I also have to clean the glass on the wood stove too... 

The Madness Of Resetting Clocks

Yup - it’s that time of year when we make the switch between Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time. 

The jury is still out as to whether or not this is an antiquated and grand inconvenience or sensible change of the clocks.  What we know for sure is that beginning tomorrow the return of Standard Time means an extra hour of sleep.  The sun will rise earlier - which is great if you rise early.  However, if you’re like this retired guy I’d prefer to see the sun a bit longer at the end of the day.  

So the operative questions are:

• Do we permanently switch to Daylight Saving Time?  
• Switch to Standard Time altogether? 
• Or continue with the madness of resetting clocks twice a year?

Steve Calandrillo, University of Washington professor of law, has studied this subject at length.  He has concluded that among other things, we need to abandon the concept of Standard Time inasmuch as early evening darkness is associated with more crime and automobile accidents when contrasted with early morning darkness.

Corporate America concurs.  With more daylight at the end of the day consumers stay out longer spending their money.  And if you like to squeeze-in a late season round of golf you understand the logic.

There is also the mental health angle as well.  Research has suggested that the switch to Standard Time is correlated with depression - a change not associated with the Spring Forward switch.  

Sure, Standard Time is old school and likely more in-sync with our prehistoric hunter-gatherer circadian rhythms - all hard-wired into our DNA for millennia and long before we had time-keeping devices and a Chamber of Commerce.

Nevertheless, this retired guy would enjoy more sunlight during his active time of day.  Opinions are a dime a dozen.

No matter how you slice it the sunshine pie in a given day is always finite.  It's all about being a slave to clocks.  

Before we had time-keeping devices none of this was a problem.

It's madness.....