in Thoreau’s Journal:

Now a man will eat his heart if ever—now while the earth is bare barren & cheerless—and we have the coldness of winter without the variety of ices & snow —but me thinks the variety & compensation are in the stars now— How bright they are now by contrast with the dark earth! —The days are short enough now. The sun is already setting before I have reached the ordinary limit of my walk—but the 21st of next month the day will be shorter will by about 25 minutes.

In December there will be less light than in any month in the year.

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…..I observe the Lycopodium lucidulum still of a free shining green— Checquer berries and partridge berries are both numerous & obvious now—