Ring-billed Gull in late afternoon light, Bob Graham Beach, Hutchinson Island.

I was walking on the beach and noticed the sun was about to drop behind the dunes – and I had not yet begun to plan dinner. The short days of December are not as short as they were in New Hampshire, but they still catch us by surprise.

But the sun has reached its southernmost position in the sky. Winter solstice was at 5:44 a.m. E.S.T. this morning.

Today the sun rises here in Stuart, FL at 7:06 a.m. and sets at 5:32 p.m. and the day is 10 hours and 25 minutes long. In our old hometown of North Hampton, NH, sunrise today is 7:11 a.m., sunset 4:12 p.m. and the day is 9 hours long.

Here’s to another hour and 25!