Fuerst Pueckler (Prince Pueckler) landscaped Branitz Park back in the 1800s. It's a decent sized park with open fields, patches of trees, forest, and some streams.
I realized that the park probably wouldn't be very pretty in the winter when the grass is dead and there's no leaves on the trees. But, I thought that perhaps I could visit once in winter and then again in summer to compare its appearance between seasons.
Winter sunlight hours are short, especially when you get up late. By the time I set out for the park the sunlight was already dimming, but once I commit myself to something I don't give up easily, so I continued to my destination.
My decision to view the park in the dark turned out to be for the best. Whereas I was expecting to see a drab landscape, the moon was big and full providing a wonderful glow and beautiful shadows. The mansion of Fuerst Pueckler took on an impressive presence in the landscape in its lit-up state.
And now to address my mother's concerns of me being out alone in a dark park. I assure you that there are occupied homes on the property, I passed by other joggers and dog walkers, and most of all, it's your fault that I have the courage to wander around in a park at night in the freezing cold winter weather. You always assured me when I was afraid that there is a super low chance that someone is going to be waiting out there in the dark, freezing cold just to prey upon me.
Oh, you funny girl. You knew exactly what I was thinking. I was going to say that it wasn't safe to be out in a park at night, alone, and then you addressed just that. Again, great minds think alike. And you're right, I doubt anyone would want to be waiting in the cold for an old lady to attack. But a young woman? Well... But as long as there were others around, OK I guess.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean the sun was already going down by the time you set out b/c you got up late? How late? You don't live in the Arctic Circle. It doesn't go down that early where you are.
So, could you really see much of the park if it was after dark when you were there? Maybe you should plan on seeing it a bit earlier during daylight if you'd really like to see the park in winter to compare with summertime.
Well, between 3 and 4pm the light gets dim, and around 4 the sun goes down. So, I slept late, did some things around the apartment (movie, ate, chatted with Christin on her day off from work), and then finally headed out. I just checked a website for sunrise and sunset times, and we're currently running on around 8 hours of sunlight per day. So, if I sleep for half of those hours, I'm only left with 4 hours of light. I have decided this winter to embrace my days and not let the hours of daylight hold me back.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll wander over again in the daylight, but it really was quite pretty at night and I wouldn't want to ruin that happy image with a drab daylight memory. Unless there was snow...which we currently don't have.
I just checked on that sunrise/sunset website for Detroit's hours of daylight and I found out that you get one more hour of daylight than me. The sun comes up at the same time for both of us, but it goes down an hour later for you than me. I had been a little confused about the sun going down so early, but I understand now that it's just not what I have ever experienced before.
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