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the Day of Darkness
"In the bleak midwinter,
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago."
~ Christina Rosetti, 1872
Although the landscape may have shifted towards more bleak tones, this time of darkening days still provide intense shades of colours found in the night sky from which to take solace. These increasily early evenings mark the shift towards the colder and quieter end of the year. Rather than resisting the earlier call to quietude, if the darkening days are impinging on your consciousness, embrace them with this beautifully conceived tartan which marks the transition between daylight, twilight, and the deepest darkness of night.
Around this time of year, depending on your latitude, the earliest sunset of the calendar appears. Darkness in the evening settles in well before the winter solstice, creating the yearly illusion that the shortest day has arrived early, even though it has not.
Birds begin forming winter flocks—often joining with species they don’t usually travel with. Chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, creepers, and even downy woodpeckers will travel together, using each species’ strengths to stay safe and find food.
Squirrels may even “cache cheat” as the days get shorter! Squirrels remember where they bury nuts, but as the season darkens, their memory becomes less precise—so they begin stealing from other squirrels’ stashes more frequently.
This tartan captures that daily journey from light to shadow. Blue represents the brilliance of daytime; dark blue echoes the hush of early twilight; deep purple marks the transition into later twilight; and all of it leads inevitably to the velvet black of night. 🖤 💙 💜 🌃
Animals and plants perceive the approach of night through built-in sensory systems that register small changes in brightness, color, temperature, and shadow. Most species do not consciously track these shifts; instead, physiological and behavioral responses are triggered automatically as daylight fades.
Animals rely heavily on light-sensitive cells in their eyes, many of which are more attuned to dim light than human vision. These cells detect the gradual decrease in brightness and the shift from blue-rich daylight to the warmer tones of dusk. Some species also have deep-brain photoreceptors—light-detecting cells located beyond the eyes—that help regulate circadian rhythms, hormone release, and seasonal cycles. As evening approaches, these systems prompt animals to wind down daytime activity or prepare for nocturnal behavior.
Birds are highly responsive to light change. They sense dusk through both their eyes and deep-brain receptors, and even subtle shifts in sky color or brightness cue them to settle into roosts. Many species can detect polarization patterns in the sky that alter at sunset, aiding in navigation and determining when the day is over. Squirrels notice lengthening shadows and reduced contrast on the ground, which makes movement riskier. This visual shift signals them to complete their last foraging trips and retreat to nests or tree cavities before darkness fully arrives.
Other environmental cues reinforce this transition. The temperature typically drops as the sun lowers, and many animals—especially insects, amphibians, and small mammals—use this cooling as a reliable indicator of evening onset. Routine and pattern recognition also play a role, as repeated daily cycles reinforce when activity should rise or fall.
Plants perceive the transition to night through pigments called phytochromes, which change form in response to different wavelengths of light. The red and far-red light characteristic of dusk triggers plants to close flowers, fold leaves, or reduce moisture loss. Their internal circadian clocks adjust these responses to align with the day-night cycle, even if external conditions temporarily change.
Together, these mechanisms allow the natural world to register dusk with remarkable precision. The shift from day to night is not just a visual event—it is a coordinated physiological signal that reorganizes activity across species and ecosystems.
For more on human perception and cataloguing of different definitions of twilight, click the beautiful night photography of Paige Weber.