Twelve hours of day and night, everywhere north of the equator. Now, we Alaskans start losing big, until December 21st.

Spent almost all the day outside, stripping old shingles off our house and watching Jason, our builder who is still working in sandals, cut a big hole in the roof for a skylight. He finished 'er up, great job, and tonight the stars look in on us. A great day to bring more light into our lives.

Here's a dwarf birch at fall equinox. The crystals on the stem have a bitter taste. Scientists think the plants make the crystals to discourage hares from eating them. Higher on birch trees, there are no bitter crystals. Maybe because hares can't climb trees.