It’s almost quitting time, yet it feels like the day barely started. Afternoon, evening and morning; for a working-stiff coming out of the office at this time of day, might as well be middle of the night. The hours seem irrelevant.
Could be worse, the more north you go, the less daylight you get. Here at least, we have five hours of it. Most of us don’t see it unless it’s the weekend — even then, the constant cloud cover or the tragic cold makes everything as miserable.
No one goes out. They say they do, or at least try but that’s not true. The cars keep running, the traffic clogs every street and highway, they all have places to go but no one goes out. The city feels barren, inhabited only by cars and trucks.
This place never really had much life, it’s one of the few places that does not improve much in daylight — on the contrary, it benefits from the cover. A cold corner between a tire-store and fast-food place, it’s where I imagine tired, overworked kitchen employees go for a smoke.
The night snowfall covers the ice quite well. It’s now an unexpected surprise when your feet start lapsing and your body contorting trying to keep balance. Fortunately, when the inevitable happens, no one will see you hit the ground. This wretched darkness keeps another secret.
As December 21st (Winter solstice) comes and goes, we can now anticipate longer days. Nothing but long, cold and bright days ahead.
Most photos shot around my work commute and retail space in the neighborhood. I find it interesting how things change during this time of year. You can usually see people about, but once the darkness comes, it’s like night.