Daylight time, a monstrosity in timekeeping.
At 6 a.m. today, as the sky started to lighten, I went outside to the front yard to listen to the birds. I've been hearing a lot of birdsong lately as the amount of daylight has increased. Once dark by 4:30 p.m., now it is light until after 6 p.m.
In the distance I heard a cardinal - no surprise here. It has been my experience that, except for robins and perhaps a mockingbird, the cardinals are the first to start singing, just before dawn. Then I heard another cardinal singing a bit closer. I went back into the house and continued out the back door. More cardinals singing. All of them are proclaiming their breeding territories for the year - No Trespassing!
 |
| NO Trespassing, says the cardinal. (Margo D. Beller) |
I put out the feeders and, as I stood on the porch, a cardinal started singing from the apple tree.
A week from today, this scene will be taking place at 7 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time.
I hate Daylight Saving Time (DST). It was not created for early risers. Birders, farmers, people with early work hours - now we are either rising in the dark at our usual time or, if we tend to wake with daylight, we are rising an hour later.
People who like DST are night owls like my husband (MH) and parents who can send their children outside after supper to burn off excess energy. Next week these same parents will be pulling their kids out of bed in the dark to get them ready for school.
I used to think DST was created to allow people in the South to have extended time for evening cookouts. According to what I have read, it was created to conserve energy during World War I, first in Europe and then in the U.S. In January 1974 the U.S. enacted year-round DST during that year's energy crisis, but it proved to be so unpopular it was repealed by the end of the year.
 |
| I prefer the early morning sun. (Margo D. Beller) |
When we "spring forward" and "fall back" has changed over the years. I can remember when we turned the clocks ahead in April and turned them back in October. Since 2007 we have turned the clocks ahead the second Sunday in March - less than a week from today - and turned the clocks back the first Sunday in November (Nov. 2 this year).
The birds, of course, don't have to worry about setting clocks ahead or back. Their day starts at first light and ends at dusk. So the cardinal will sing at the same time, but it will be an hour later on my clock.
No matter when DST happens, it seems to take place just when I finally have enough early daylight to rise and go about my business outside. Then I lose the earlier light for about three weeks. It means going out on the porch later for the sunlight. The longer afternoon light means I have to remember to bring in the feeders at a new time.
"Gaining" an hour for a day is nice (later this year; for now I lose an hour), but I'd rather we leave the daylight alone.
