Fall into Darkness

With the transition to fall the waning of evening light has transitioned our routine from biking to the playground into walks to the beach.    Most nights we have the beach to ourselves and I sit in a swing and watch the western horizon redden while the girls play “lifeguard”.  At one point in recent history, the girls were both too chicken to climb up the lifeguard chairs but after some prodding they have come around and the ascending/descending activity now the basis of their games.

One sibling will climb the chair and the other will serve either as the lookout, calling out for assistance or, more often, the beach-bound sibling will be the one in need of rescue.   As the crux of the fun is climbing in and out of the chairs, the rescues are often quite brief.   We also like to watch the schools of menhaden that course throughout the harbor and often come close enough to the town beach that we can see their fins cutting the surface.  Fall is perhaps the most beautiful time of year but I can’t help but feel a bit melancholy by the waning daylight which will only be exacerbated in a few weeks by the return to standard time. This year we are determined to make the most of the dark season.