When Daylight Saving Time ends, it is not fun. You go to bed when it is dark and you wake up and it is still dark. My dog doesn't like it either. She takes shorter walks when it isn't light out. I grab a flashlight in the early evening or in the morning when I take her for a walk, but she still doesn't trust the darkness. Maybe the noises she hears – which I definitely don't hear – spook her.

Making it through to April – Oh man, that's five months away – when Daylight Saving Time begins again is a task, but I think the key is to get outside and enjoy the sunshine when you can.

I took my annual November vacation this week. It is a vacation for being outside, albeit, not on a beach or roaming the grounds of Disney. My property is a leaf magnet and I get to spend hours upon hours cleaning up the lawn and dumping the leaves down a gully on my land. It is a job, but I enjoy being outside during that time. The problem is, the leaf detail is stretching into more days than it used to. I used to be able to work four or five hours at a time, but I am finding it harder to match that time having turned 65 and my body not as limber as it used to be. And doing the job after a rainstorm delays the inevitable and is less enjoyable. Wet leaves are heavy.

But fresh air, sunshine – and light – help improve one's mood. As I sit here on Monday morning, looking outside at the gray sky and rain falling, I am glad the forecast is for three straight days of sunshine.

One of those days is Thanksgiving Day and instead of working on the leaves, I will enjoy a meal with family and be thankful –  among other things – that most of my November duty will be accomplished before returning to my mostly inside job.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!