The longest night of the year - staying positive and productive?

Here comes the winter solstice, and so the longest night of the year. (Up here, the day is just over 7  hours long.)

I think the change of light affects some more than others. Personally, in the dark of winter, I can sink into low spirits unless I deliberately get a a cardio burn every day and make a point of having some social contact. I also have a list of "bite-size tasks" that help me feel productive. This seems to be the secret sauce.

What are your strategies for weathering the longest night of the year?

Or from the other end of the earth - the longest day.
Personally, I ignore daylight saving time,  get up when the sun appears on the bedroom wall, whatever the clock time is*; get stuck into garden tasks before it gets too hot,  and hibernate if the temperature is just too hellish. Drink lots of water and eat light meals.  Get lots of reading done.
*My eyelids open whenever the light is "right" whatever the time of year though

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

What are your strategies for weathering the longest night of the year?

I create one of those T-charts with pros on one side and cons on the other.....and populate it with reasons that it's good to live this far north and others that indicate what is irritating about living this far north.  (But of course these whines will fall of deaf ears of one living even farther north than us!....  )

In the meantime, I like to tackle projects I've put off during the more active times of the year.....probably falling into your 'bite-size task' category.  Realized recently that part of the problem with the rat traps not springing properly is that the holes for bait application are too close to the fulcrum of the trip-plate.  So after many months of idle, I fired up the drill press in the basement to add a bit of ventilation to that plate design.  Ever the jokester, Mother Nature took me on a detour.....as I fired up the press, a horrendous thumping returned from the motor and belt compartment.  Upon inspection, a mouse family had decided over several weeks to play "This Old House" with the belt section of the tool and it was jam packed with batt insulation!   :-/  After about an hour of cleaning, vacuuming, hoisting the press back into place and adding strategically place drier sheets ('Bounce'....the "No Vacancy' notice to the rodent world), we were back in business and new holes drilled.  The test is in progress to see if I can reduce the number of times I find un-tripped traps that nevertheless are stripped clean of bait.  They do this even when the bait is a gummy bear crammed into the bait hold!  Anyway....here's hoping.

And now a problem I'm hoping you, Douglas, can help to solve.  My preferred source of water for the various chicken abodes this time of year is the spiggot on the side of the house.    We now are in the days when sub-zero (F) for nights is routine....and this freezes the spiggot solid.  Note that this is one of those 'deep' valve seat units where the valve-seat is located about 1.5 - 2 feet into the house.  That region is fine and thawed, but the handle freezes solid nonetheless.  Is there some sort of plug-in 'cozy' for the spiggot that could be wrapped around the spiggot and plugged in to thaw it before use?  I've heard of taking a blow torch or heat gun to it, but for the frequency of use needed, would rather find a different fix.  Any items in Canada of which we may be unfamiliar just to the south you for this purpose?  Thanks!

More generally, a ramping of a food prep....baking, air-frying, soup/stew/chili experimentation, etc.  So much will end up in the oven compartment of main kitchen range which we just use for storage these days.  Then nosh at your leisure.  Also, and maybe because age and health are factoring in,.....SLEEP!  Daytime naps and good sleep at night.  And good cardio as you mentioned to bookend this slumber.  In addition to chopping firewood daily (splitting maul), cross-country skiing and stretching out chores can help.  For instance, I could gather all of the firewood at once to bring to the house, but deliberately leave some to get later....and mix it into getting the mail or closing up the chicken houses.

John Weiland wrote:And now a problem I'm hoping you, Douglas, can help to solve.  My preferred source of water for the various chicken abodes this time of year is the spiggot on the side of the house.    We now are in the days when sub-zero (F) for nights is routine....and this freezes the spiggot solid.  Note that this is one of those 'deep' valve seat units where the valve-seat is located about 1.5 - 2 feet into the house.  That region is fine and thawed, but the handle freezes solid nonetheless.  Is there some sort of plug-in 'cozy' for the spiggot that could be wrapped around the spiggot and plugged in to thaw it before use?  I've heard of taking a blow torch or heat gun to it, but for the frequency of use needed, would rather find a different fix.  Any items in Canada of which we may be unfamiliar just to the south you for this purpose?  Thanks!

Excellent post above.

Re the taps, the only way they can freeze is if they are not draining properly -- some water is staying inside. You could hang an old jacket on it to see if that holds enough heat from the house, or you could screw on a Y connector with a short hose and blow into it to displace the water. Or both. But it's definitely a drainage issue. BTW the stores here sell a styrofoam block that's shaped to go over the outdoor taps. Probably for energy efficiency since a tap is a break in the thermal envelope.

So I clipped the accompanying photo here from angi.com.

For sure when I installed this spiggot many many moons ago, I was not aware of the need for downward sloping.  As fortune has it....and for reasons I can no longer recall....the valve-end of the spiggot inside the house was adapted with a male garden hose thread connector.  A few feet from this was the copper pipe supply line which ended with a standard brass on/off valve (male garden hose threads).  These were connected to each other Red Green style:  With a double-female washing machine hose ( "If they don't find you handsome....").  The reason this may be fortunate is due to the flexibility in the system....I may be able to simply raise the end in the house to create downward slope on the pipe. I could do it properly with a hammer-drill, some concrete anchors and a bracket to raise the valve-end of the spiggot, but in the spirit of Red, I think I will take a perfectly good step ladder, wedge it under the pipe, and wrap several rounds of duct tape over the assembly to keep it in place :-)  

Thank for the slope angle tip.....Tomorrow's long dark day project already planned!

I've been fighting a cold for a whole week and just realized we are at solstice!
I used to suffer from depression so I was really surprised to find out I didn't have seasonal affective doldrums when I cleared my hurdles to combat depression.

I also found the small tasks lists helpful and aerobic exercise to get oxygen to the old brain. Also having pigeons assures I will get outdoors for short intervals.

I find getting adequate vitamin A C, D, and K, plus a multivitamin helps a lot.

I also plan some treats for myself: I save some of my oermies streaming and also order a few documentaries, comedies, audio books, and real books and save them for this time of year and cuddle up under a nice blanket to enjoy!

John, in case you aren't found to be handy enough I wonder if the heat cord (proper name escaping me) used for the lower part of a roof above the eavestrough to prevent ice dams could be found short enough to provide a solution for you.  Adding an outdoor timer could allow it to be on short enough that it wouldn't be a big draw.

In the spirit of Red Green, this reminds me of an episode of Tool Time...it seems to me Tim "supercharged" his and it burned through the roof (or something vaguely like that).

Like it or not, the standard poodle insists I take him for a daily walk.  We average about 4.5 km or so with a bit of variation.  The only downside at this time of year is that we are home before dawn.  I have trouble making excuses to get outside once the sun is actually up so that my skin can take some of it in.

From a nighttime perspective, one project I need to work on is dealing with the light pollution from the LED streetlights...grrrrrr.  We have fairly thin window coverings in our bedroom, so I'd like to keep more of that blue light out.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Here comes the winter solstice, and so the longest night of the year. (Up here, the day is just over 7  hours long.)
I think the change of light affects some more than others. Personally, in the dark of winter, I can sink into low spirits unless I deliberately get a a cardio burn every day and make a point of having some social contact. I also have a list of "bite-size tasks" that help me feel productive. This seems to be the secret sauce.
What are your strategies for weathering the longest night of the year?

Definitely "bite-sized tasks" is the secret sauce, and a wonderful counter against feeling down: Sorting seeds, choosing new seeds, making plans to fix a pond, growing ducks... it is all uplifting. I am not much for "social contact" as I like my own company and visitors just don't thrill me: They tend to take my time away from things I like to get accomplished.
I found that making a list also keeps me feeling like "At least, I have accomplished "something' today. Even if it is a boring task, like sorting out my expenses for tax preparation.

Derek Thille wrote:From a nighttime perspective, one project I need to work on is dealing with the light pollution from the LED streetlights...grrrrrr.  We have fairly thin window coverings in our bedroom, so I'd like to keep more of that blue light out.

I can't recommend enough oversized Roman shades out of insulating material (eg lined with an old woolen blanket) attached well above the window, so they can be raised all the way for natural daytime light, but pretty much act like black-out curtains when lowered.

I might be able to scare up a link from the sewing forum in fiber arts if you're interested. They are very easy to sew, even if a bit time consuming. Sewing the guide rings for the ropes is the time consuming part, but that's what long winter evenings are for???

I am very sensitive to light at night - I *know* when it's a full moon! Light pollution has really increased in my area in the last 25 years, and I wish I could convince average folks to dial it back a whole lot!

Jay Angler wrote:

Derek Thille wrote:From a nighttime perspective, one project I need to work on is dealing with the light pollution from the LED streetlights...grrrrrr.  We have fairly thin window coverings in our bedroom, so I'd like to keep more of that blue light out.

I can't recommend enough oversized Roman shades out of insulating material (eg lined with an old woolen blanket) attached well above the window, so they can be raised all the way for natural daytime light, but pretty much act like black-out curtains when lowered.

I might be able to scare up a link from the sewing forum in fiber arts if you're interested. They are very easy to sew, even if a bit time consuming. Sewing the guide rings for the ropes is the time consuming part, but that's what long winter evenings are for???
I am very sensitive to light at night - I *know* when it's a full moon! Light pollution has really increased in my area in the last 25 years, and I wish I could convince average folks to dial it back a whole lot!

Same thing here: I know that when there is a full moon, I will have trouble sleeping. It never fails. One thing I don't see so much in the US but I saw many times in France is shutters. I don't understand it: In the south of France, I used to have shutters on the outside of my house. [Real ones, not the undersized 'decorative' ones]. They could lock  weather tight and burglar tight, from the inside. I keep seeing folks in tornado plagued states taking big sheets of plywood and spend a couple of days hammering them over their windows. Man, it's a fortune that's being spent in sheets of flimsy plywood!
Why not regular shutters? They are 1.5" thick and your house is boarded nicely. In winter, you stay much warmer, in the summer you can stay much cooler and you don't have to go through the expense every season!
Maybe it is those darn window panes that just don't open easily from the inside, I just don't know.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:

Same thing here: I know that when there is a full moon, I will have trouble sleeping. It never fails. One thing I don't see so much in the US but I saw many times in France is shutters. I don't understand it: In the south of France, I used to have shutters on the outside of my house. [Real ones, not the undersized 'decorative' ones]. They could lock  weather tight and burglar tight, from the inside.

I feel ya! I miss my German rolladen! When I worked midnight shift, I could totally black out the room to sleep during the day. And during the heat of summer, I could lower them enough to make it dark, but the spaces in between the louvers were still open for air flow. Because of course no one had a/c. I loved it!

While I am not in the extreme cold country, (South Carolina) I find my hibernating activities centered around smaller projects which can be tackled with a pocket knife and/or an exact o knife or other cutting instruments.  I save up assorted chunks (pieces) of various woods and when the thermometer dips the chips fly.  often it is just kitchen utensils (great gifts) but occasionally a quail or owl works its way into the mixture.  

Jim Johnson

Jay Angler wrote:

Derek Thille wrote:From a nighttime perspective, one project I need to work on is dealing with the light pollution from the LED streetlights...grrrrrr.  We have fairly thin window coverings in our bedroom, so I'd like to keep more of that blue light out.

I can't recommend enough oversized Roman shades out of insulating material (eg lined with an old woolen blanket) attached well above the window, so they can be raised all the way for natural daytime light, but pretty much act like black-out curtains when lowered.

I might be able to scare up a link from the sewing forum in fiber arts if you're interested. They are very easy to sew, even if a bit time consuming. Sewing the guide rings for the ropes is the time consuming part, but that's what long winter evenings are for???

I am very sensitive to light at night - I *know* when it's a full moon! Light pollution has really increased in my area in the last 25 years, and I wish I could convince average folks to dial it back a whole lot!

Also, Derek, for what it's worth,  this afternoon I will hang a second 'cellular' window shade up on the main floor of the house....a somewhat drafty NE window.  The ~27" X 48" shade has no drawstring as the internal mechanism allows the shade to be pulled down and pushed back up by hand.  The cellular design promotes heat retention of the room via the dead air space in the cells.  As important is the fact that they come in an array of functions...complete blackout to mildly transparent...and with different color schemes.   Many big-box hardware stores will sell them and for the size just described, they run about $40.00 USD per blind.

Derek Thille wrote:John, in case you aren't found to be handy enough I wonder if the heat cord (proper name escaping me) used for the lower part of a roof above the eavestrough to prevent ice dams could be found short enough to provide a solution for you.  Adding an outdoor timer could allow it to be on short enough that it wouldn't be a big draw.

This may in fact will end up being the approach if I am in dire need of using that faucet.  Inspection this morning of the portion inside the house revealed that the long faucet assembly passes through 2 floor joists before connecting with the hose.  And indeed, the holes drilled through the floor joists for this project years ago appear to guide the faucet pipe in a mildly downward incline into the house.  For that reason,....and even given Red Green's 'can-do' attitude...., I think I will shelve the project modification for nicer weather.  You know, a hot, muggy, buggy, sticky, sweaty day in July when being in the dark root cellar for the project duration is not seen as a penance.  But I'm going to look at a 'heat tape'-type cable that we use on the main water conduit that runs out of the basement to the provide water to the outbuildings:  That line can freeze in the basement during the worst weather and I had purchased the heating cable from a place called 'Brisk-Heat'.  The design was elegant....no thermostat, but the materials of the heating element in the tape self-regulate....they are produced to achieve only a certain temperature range and no more.  So no (or very little) risk of starting a fire.  Perhaps this is how the roof thaw tapes work...?  This would seem to be ideal for thawing that portion of the faucet.  More experimentation!.....  Thanks!

Dunno about faucets--on the coldest nights we keep a bowl in the kitchen sink to catch the occasional small amounts of water going out, to dump all at once, to not have the outtake pipe freeze. And stop the water that goes to the greenhouse.
But on winter depression, I've heard and think there's truth to the idea that you benefit from walking outside, preferably in the morning, preferably when there's some sunlight.
Tasks help but I don't know why they gotta be bite sized. Maybe so you get the dopamine of crossing them off the list...unlike my winter task of raking leaves off our one-mile lane, bagging and bringing them home and chopping most to make leafmold. Once winter sets in that slows way down as I can only do it on days when it's warm and dry enough. I now have a new project I started last winter, clearing a space where I will hopefully plant a standard apple tree in the spring. I notice that tasks I do all year tend to expand in winter--housework, cooking, time online.

Mary Cook wrote:Tasks help but I don't know why they gotta be bite sized. Maybe so you get the dopamine of crossing them off the list...

Haha, something like that. It's about overcoming the inertia that sets in during 17 hours of darkness and a foot of snow on the ground. The outdoor tasks I'd like to be doing are out of reach, or take three times longer, which is frustrating.  So, for example, changing out a few plugs in the basement, which I'd never get to in summer, gets me out of neutral and into first gear, leading to the next little task.

From post farther above >>>  ...Rodentia 3 :  JW 0.   New holes in rat trap pan completely stripped of their gummi bear bait with no tripping of the trap! Grrrrr....  

Innovation #2:  Internet recipe for quick microwave peanut brittle.....the harder, the better.  Will apply molten peanut brittle mix to the bait holes and allow to harden.  Try stripping THAT out of the trip-pan without force!

Sad Solstice note:  One of the geese died last night.  They are kept in a building by night and she was up and eating yesterday.  But we suspect she was in the 20+ years-old range.  Down to 6 now and wondering if we should bring in new additions this year......

But the days are now longer.....Hooray!

I`ve been doing the miracle morning the past few days and it has seemed to help tremendously as far as energy and overcoming health adversity. You simply do SAVERS a few min each the second you wake up. Silence (meditation), affirmations, visualizations, exercise, reading, scribing. My other secret is clams (vit B boost). Will see if that lasts long term.