We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves. (George M. Adams)

And, so it's happening. The days are getting longer. We still have a month until the longest day of the year and it's already twilight past 11:30pm. As I write this at midnight, it looks just like these pictures that I took last night.

I much prefer the long nights to the long days. Perhaps it is because I feel like I'm wasting time during the long days... I'm burning daylight, as John Wayne said. In the darkness, I have permission to sleep, to dream, to relax. The darkness makes it feel safe to have that second helping of macaroni and cheese, drink that next whiskey, overindulge. The darkness tells me it's okay to sleep late, to put off laundry for one more day, to cuddle up in a blanket with a good book.

However, the long days... now that's a different story. It makes me feel like I should be outside, especially on those sunny days, working in the garden, playing fetch with the dog, riding a bike to town. The 4am daylight pulls me from my bed and forces me to make to-do lists for the day. The 10pm daylight makes my dog stubborn when I call her in for the night. I need to learn to embrace this phenomenon. This will be my 3rd summer in the Alaskan light. It is time to stop rebelling and start enveloping myself in all of the bounty that Alaska has to offer. It's time to buy a salmon pole.