This time of year the sun is starting to retreat less rapidly than it did near the equinox, but the cumulative effect of the season really starts to become obvious. The sun is setting a little after 5pm (and we haven’t even switch the time back yet), and even when it is up, it does not climb very high in the sky. Although the loss of light and warmth has its drawbacks, the quality of light we get can be quite nice. The picture leading off this post was taken at 3:30, mid-afternoon by most standards, yet the low angle of the sun shining through steam rising from the trees and muskeg makes the epiphytic lichens on the branches of a shore pine practically glow against the partially shaded edge of the forest in the background.