The end of the golden weather.

Just because it happens every year, doesn’t make it any easier.

The end of the golden weather.

Just because it happens every year, doesn’t make it any easier.

The first Sunday in April, here in the Antipodean isles that I call home, marks a change in seasons.  At 3:00 am, the clocks all went back one hour to 2:00 am.  It was the end of our daylight savings time, otherwise known as summertime.

Not everyone likes the practice of changing the clocks to give us more useable daylight.  Some argue that it upsets circadian rhythms and disrupts sleep patterns.  Many parents of young children find the transition between standard time and daylight savings time especially difficult.

Having said that, a survey here in 2008 found that 82% of the population approved of extending the daylight savings period.  By contrast, 41% of dairy farmers opposed the extension.

New Zealand is an agricultural country and many farmers have long argued that changing the time twice a year upsets the natural rhythms of stock animals and causes them unnecessary stress.

Daylight savings time was first observed here just over 100 years ago in 1921.  It was extended to cover the whole year in 1941 and effectively stopped altogether in 1946.  It wasn’t until 1975 that it was re-introduced and the dates we observe it have been amended several times since then.  Currently, daylight savings starts on the last Sunday in September and runs to the first Sunday in April.

As a naturist and a self-confessed heliophile, this time of year heralds a change in my mood.  The days are becoming shorter, the weather is getting cooler and the opportunities to enjoy the outdoors naturally are greatly reduced.  I find the move towards winter oppressive and mildly depressing.

Not in a chronic, seasonal affected disorder (SAD) way, but perhaps disappointing, like something that falls just short of expectations.

In our winter, it is dark by 5:30 pm, and selfishly I wish that we would just leave the clocks in summertime all year round.  I find increased daylight at the end of the day more useful than extra daylight at the beginning of the day.

I recall, as a child living in England, that the winter days were much shorter and colder, I am aware that by many people's everyday seasonal experiences, I currently live in a temperate part of the world that is largely hospitable all year round.  This is something that I am grateful for, but it still doesn’t stop me from pining for the warmer months in our cycle of seasons.

I accept that there can be beauty and magic in the winter landscapes but I feel a lack of vibrant energy that accompanies the sunlit seasons.  The older I get, the more I have become a summer person.  For me, the best thing about winter is one hour of extra sleep when the clocks go back.

Emma and I have a comfortable home that allows for indoor nudity in the colder and darker winter months, but we miss the pleasure of the warm sun and a gentle breeze on our skin.

While the opportunities to get naked outside are reducing in this part of the world, many of my readers and friends north of the equator are waking up to warmer days with more sunlight hours and increased opportunities to enjoy outdoor nudity.

Chances to visit the beach, parks and forest walks and enjoy the great outdoors naturally are looked upon with mild envy.

While I can still enjoy nudity at home during the colder months, I find that when something like comfortable outdoor nudity is taken away from me, the feeling of loss is felt more deeply.

I look forward to the images and articles that my northern friends will no doubt post over the coming months.  I will be living vicariously through their naturist content.

Thank you for reading.  Have a comfortable day.