Sunset over the South Reservoir in the Middlesex Fells. Photo (cc) 2022 by Dan Kennedy.
It’s snowing. We’re stuck in the house. And there are two and a half more months of winter left. So I thought I’d offer a little bit of hope today.
I recently learned that the earliest sunset of the year, 4:11 p.m., takes place on Dec. 7, even though the days keep getting shorter until Dec. 21, the first day of winter. Today is Jan. 7, and sunset will be at 4:27. That’s a 16-minute improvement — and you may have noticed recently that there’s at least some daylight now up until 5.
On Feb. 7, sunset will be at 5:05, and on March 7 it will be 5:44. And then, blessedly, the clocks move ahead once again. On March 10, sunset will be at 6:45.