It’s been three weeks since the Winter Solstice and have you noticed that daylight has been getting longer? More minutes to enjoy the outdoors, like cleaning the snow and ice off your car – now punishable by a fine if you don’t – shoveling your walkway, porch and driveway. Oh, you can ski, sled and do those other winter sports in freezing temperatures!

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the sun has been getting higher in the sky since Dec. 23. When it’s not cloudy, rainy, or snowing, you might feel the sun’s rays a little more than you did before Christmas. Too bad the sunrises are keeping pace with the sunsets – darn Daylight Saving Time. But also, we won’t reach our coldest average temperature until the third week of January.

But there will be more sunlight! And by mid-January, the increase jumps to about two minutes a day, according to the Almanac. Things really speed up by school vacation week in February when daylight increases by three minutes a day!

According to timeanddate.com, Boothbay Harbor’s sunrise on Dec. 22 was 7:09 a.m. and sunset was 4:04 p.m. On Monday, Jan. 8, sunrise was 7:12 a.m. and sunset was 4:18 p.m. Wow, we’re moving toward 9.5 hours of daylight quickly ... or approximately two more minutes per day! Enjoy that extra time throwing out your back with that shovel full of snow. Hopefully it will be daylight when it happens so those coming to help can see you in the snowbank!

So winter has arrived – look outside – but it really gets better as the calendar days get crossed off. But don’t expect to pull out those shorts and short-sleeved shirts for a while yet.

Just thinking positively!