A Ray of Daylight
This morning my birds woke me up early and they made such a noise that I couldn´t help but get up and see what all the tweeping was about. You know what it was? The sun was shining. It was so beautiful and lovely, that I dressed and went out for a walk, before my morning coffee and everything. Now you might be thinking what´s so extraordinary about sunshine, but it is here. Short hours of daylight and grey and foggy surroundings define Iceland´s scenery in January. But maybe we just nag too much here. But maybe not: They actually said in the news today that this January we had 8.8 hours of sunshine. Think about that for a second! I guess it is better than nothing, but 9 hours? They also said that this is slightly unusal even here, our average for January is 21 hours!!! Yeah...that is loads better. Mind you I am talking about sunshine, not daylight! Daylight we have in plentitude, almost 4 to 5 hours in December :)
Some Interesting Facts about the Sun:
"The Sun is a ball of hot gases. By weight, it is 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and 0.5% all other elements. The Sun's temperature is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface and 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the center.
The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is 93,000,000 miles. It takes light eight and a half minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
The diameter of the Sun is 870,000 miles, 109 times larger than the Earth's. Its volume is big enough to hold over 1 million Earths."
Interestingly enough, my MOM posted about the same thing, only differently:)
21 Comments:
I remember sitting outside a restaurant in the U.K. on a July evening, and there was still daylight at 9 pm. For someone from the U.S., it was very strange.
Then again, when the sun set at 4 pm in December, I knew it would be a long winter.
When I lived in Miami, I did the same thing you did. I was the first one up, and would walk outside to savor the early morning hours all alone. It was very peaceful.
Yes, I did. But you do it so much more interesting! I realize that I have to put a bit af more work into my blog :)
Mom
Fred, I love those walks. I love seeing the city wake up. Tired people about their business.
Mom...I loved reading yours. because there were facts I didn´t even think about. The grass seems greener on the other side nd all that :) See you tomorrow!
Mornings are my favorite times. There's nothing to me better than being the first person up and about. I could enjoy Iceland. Sunlight is hard on those of us with dark spirits.
doug: You don´t know what you ask for!
I'm so happy you had sunshine, Monika. I was actually talking to hubby about you & Icelandic Mom the other day, among other things about how your sunshine time is so limited.
I'm one of those people where the weather can affect my mood. I'm usually a very "sunny" person, so I thrive on blue skies and sunny days. But when it's gloomy out, I can get gloomy in.
Being from the NW of the USA we have quite a difference here also in daylight from summer to winter, dark at 4 PM in winter to still light out at 9 around the summer solstice. Not as extreme as Alaska, or Iceland, but enough to make me very sympathetic to your point.
So glad you got some sunshine, when you are quite finished, would you mind letting me have a bit?
"The Sun is a ball of hot gases"
sounds like a guy I used to work with.
My strangest experience with this kind of phenomenon was when we were in Scotland many years ago. We were there very near summer solstice. And it seemed like the dusk never ended. We were out at a bar, and thought, hey we're kind of tired, but it's not even dark yet.
it was 11pm.
very strange.
(*)>
I need some of that sun! It's been grey and gloomy. And too windy!
Having grown up in Spain, I am used to sunlight. I definitely have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) meaning that the weather really affects me.
The weather has been completely crazy here these days! One day it is sunny and I am hyper and energetic and hopeful... the next day it is gray and I cannot for the life of me feel motivated, something as simple as changing my clothes is very hard and labor intensive and it is a struggle to fight feelings of doom and gloom and not allow myself to be overcome by depression...
And Fred, you would love it here in the summertime! It is light out until about 9:30 to 10 pm! I am total ball of energy then and cannot stay in the house!
I always love to see the sunrise. Especially in the winter. Usually I drive into work in the dark and by the time I leave work, its already dark outside. The summer is much nicer, where it doesn't really get dark until about 9 at night in June/July.
Doug, you have dark spirits?
Sar, well our sunshine is limited over winter. In July it is daylight 24 hours. That is so refreshing. In the beginning of summer it is really hard to fall asleep, becuase it is always bright like day.
Logo, ok...you can have two minutes of my sunshine and I´ll send a couple of weeks of daylight over the summer;)
birdwoman, yeah I know that feeling...in summer we stay outisde so late becuase we don´t realize the time. It is too bright to fall asleep.
3D, well we only had 8.8 hours in January and I am already sharing with Logo. But next time I´ll send some over to you!
Miz B. seasonle affective disorder. NICE! I like the darkness. I like the feeling of having candles and a really cozy atmosphere when it is dark outside. But I think Iceland is overdoing it. I mean there are 9 months of winter and 3 of summer. And that is about it. Spring and fall-well, you blink and they ar egine! The winter is getting to me now...I hate thhis grey in grey monotony...I planning atrip to Germany in April. It is gonna be spring there by than. I love spring!
Heather, sunrise and sunset are unbelievable and in Iceland we get those beautiful colours and you can look so far, ´cause there are no trees to interfere with the view;)
Actonbell, the dark greyness here can affect people´s moods a lot. But, on the other hand, if the sun shines here, everybody is out and about. At work we all met after our shift finished and took a walk together...becuase the sun was shining! It was lovely.
I'm fascinated by all this light/dark stuff. One of my favorite pastimes is to read books about Arctic exploration. I love stories about men trapped on iceflows in the middle of winter with not much to eat and only 3 hours of daylight. I'm not sure what that says about me...
Manchego, what doe sit say about you? That you can appreciate darkness from a distance ;) But it can very romantic, in winter when it is dark!
Monika, or that Manchego's into cannibalism. (That's probably a yes to your question, by the way)
I love the photo and the post. Living in Florida, also known as the Sunshine State, we sometimes take the sun for granted.
I'm sorry you have so little access to the glorious sun. I wish I could put some into a little box & send it your way.
Doug, a response to which question?
Cube, just some coded sunrays will be fine...I feel a teint coming on!
no cannibalism until you have one husky...
Canabalism now, huh? I can't wait to read what Doug writes about me when it comes time for my Saturday morning storytime...
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