Isn’t it always the way? Just as you’re seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel –well, actually, at the beginning of your day if you get up early – it’s time to mess with your clocks again. It’s true that we are early birds. We get up before our chickens, at least in the winter. And right now, in mid-March, the sky is just beginning to lighten at five in the morning.
We sit and sip our coffee and watch our garden take shape as the day arrives. It’s always a time of promise – a time of renewed energy. We plan our day more enthusiastically than in mid-December or mid-January. Our conversations begin to touch upon new projects and plans that will take us beyond our huddle by the fire. Spring is almost here! And then, with the flip of a calendar page and a backward turn of the clock dial… we are back in the darkness before dawn. Damn!
Only Hawaii and Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation which is on federal lands) stay on standard time year-round. Other states have petitioned Congress to stay consistent – either on or off DST. Reasons vary. Most have to do with energy conservation but here in Washington, bills to end DST filed by Rep. Elizabeth Scott (R, Monroe) in House and Senate cite that the semiannual time switches are not only inconvenient but lead to health problems and accidents due to lost sleep.
Who knew? She says that the bill to drop daylight saving time would reduce heart attacks, car wrecks and work accidents found to increase with the sleep-schedule disruptions. But, wouldn’t you know… a different Senate Bill would petition the federal government for year-round DST. As far as I know, neither the pro nor con bills have made much headway.
I’ve mentioned the debate to our girls in the coop but they are remaining neutral on the entire controversy. Their days follow the sun – or on cloudy days, the light – and they don’t need a clock (or even a rooster) to tell them when to wake up or go to roost. Smart. We could take a lesson from them, no doubt.
Meanwhile, once we set our clocks forward at midnight day after tomorrow, we will need to wait until April 10 for our morning glimmer to come back to us as we are drinking that first cup of coffee. Of course, it will be light later each day but, for a morning person such as myself, it’s simply wrong. Another case of messing needlessly with Mother Nature. We just can’t seem to leave her alone, can we?
Hadn’t thought about the health implications. Good point. Hate all this clock witching.