These are dark days in the Northern Hemisphere. The winter solstice arrived last week, and our only solace lies in the fact that, from here on, we can only gain daylight -- imperceptibly, to be sure, but also inexorably. Meanwhile, I try to dispel the darkness with sunny thoughts -- wherever I can find them....

For instance, did you know that the word, "daisy," as in Becky shasta daisy, was "day's eye," originally? An early metaphorical reference to the sun, "day's eye" was later applied to the sun-like appearance of the shasta daisy flower, with its "sunrays" radiating out from a central yellow disk.

_{Photo ©2005 David Beaulieu (licensed to About, Inc.)}