NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, with ever-shorter days and longer nights, and with more cloudy skies than any other months of the year, are our gloomiest Minnesota months. We human beings compensate for this deficit by creating light—inviting light into our homes and yards and gathering spaces, surrounding the longest night of the year with light, and in the process reminding ourselves of the light that can shine within. It’s an ancient and useful adaptation. Last night I found a pretty girl to go walking with. In the light.