It's definitely Autumn now.

The weather has really taken a turn for the colder recently, although the sun shines a lot as well. All the leaves are coming off the trees, and the nights are drawing in fast. This is quite a nuisance for me, because my eyes still haven't recovered completely from the laser surgery I had last spring. This is perfectly normal, and I was told it could take a year for them to settle down completely, but it means that it's not safe for me to drive at night because of the starbursts I see around light sources.

Just as an example, this is what most people would be able to see at night:



And this is closer to what I see:


That is just with one car in front of me. Imagine what it's like with many cars, including ones coming towards me with their headlights on, streetlights, shop signs, etc. I just can't see enough of what is behind the starbursts to be able to drive at night.

Luckily I don't have very much reason to drive at night, as we have a good public transport network for getting into town to socialise, but it is a nuisance if we need to go somewhere off the bus route, like up to Skry's parents' house. I can't plan to drive anywhere in the late afternoon because it might be dark by the time I was ready to go home and then I'd be stuck.

I wonder what time it gets dark at in New Zealand during the winter. Or during the summer, for that matter. One more thing we will have to find out...