Short days, long nights.

Embrace, don’t eschew the darkness. Our part of the world will only be dark for a few more months before she brightens up again. Instead of moaning and groaning, let’s create contentment until the light once again returns to our lives.

Here are a few suggestions to make the most of the giant ink blot that is the sky.

• Visit a Dark Sky Community: The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of the Wet Mountain Valley. Aim your vehicle southwest toward Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, an area certified as an International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark Sky Association. That means loads of twinkling stars, hovering planets, gauzy galaxies and a newfound awe for the mystery and complexity of our universe.

• SkyView app: Download this free app, or one of the many stargazing apps like it, point your phone at the sky and watch a whole wondrous world open up. Point your phone at a sparkling star and the app will tell its name and what constellation it might be in. It also will outline the constellation so you have a better chance of connecting the stars for yourself. See that vaguely reddish bright object on the horizon? It’s Mars. And that other bright one? Jupiter. And there’s Orion, only on display from November through February.

13 weekend things to do in Colorado Springs and beyond: Holiday Homes, Zeppelin Alive, Vintage Market, Christkindlmarket and more

• Find a great podcast: Crawl under a blanket or three and allow the story, voices and characters to surround you in your tiny fort. A few suggestions: “Welcome to Night Vale,” a twice-monthly fiction podcast set in a small desert town that features local weather, news, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures and conspiracy theories come true; “Cold,” available through Amazon Music, in which host and investigative journalist Dave Crawley tackles a different missing persons case in each of its three seasons; “Dark Winter Nights: True Stories From Alaska”; and “In Strange Woods,” a fictional documentary musical with an original folk-pop score that chronicles the life of an 18-year-old after a tragedy in a small northern Minnesota town.

• Classic novels on audiobooks: With no tempting 8:30 p.m. summer sunsets to keep you out and about, the time is nigh to read all those classics you keep saying you’ll get to someday. That someday is now. Try “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” by Agatha Christie, “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis.

• Take a sound bath: Use your extra dark hours to encourage healing in your frazzled mind and body. Gongs and Tibetan singing bowls are often used during a sound healing session, and said to help reduce stress, pain and depression. Several studios in the Pikes Peak region offer regular events, including Yoga Studio Satya, Singing Bowls of the Rockies and Echo Studio.

• Soak under the stars: Colorado Springs townies are in close proximity to several hot springs. Don’t let the distance from the warm changing rooms to the steamy water be a deterrent. Gift your winter bod with a night float session at SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs, Desert Reef Hot Springs (clothing-optional hours) near Florence, Dakota Hot Springs (clothing-optional) or Indian Hot Springs in Idaho Springs.

• Fall in love: Because how delightful would it be to be in love by spring? And if you’re already ensconced with a partner, why not fall in love all over again. More than 25 years ago, psychologist Arthur Aron helped two people fall in love by sitting in a lab and asking each other the same 36 personal questions, which include: “When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?” “When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?” “How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?”

Lighting the way to the holidays: A roundup of displays and trains in Colorado

• Sneak into a speakeasy: We love being let in on a secret. That’s the feeling at hideaway bars around downtown Colorado Springs that offer steps back in time to Prohibition. Oh, and the cocktails are fabulous. A few of these cozy nooks along Tejon Street: Brooklyn’s on Boulder, The Archives and Allusion.

• Test your knowledge: How about a trivia night? You could, of course, host your own — picking the theme, rules, prizes and snacks for your best buddies. Or, you can check in with a bar or restaurant near you. There are weekly contests all around town.

• Movie night out: We’re partial to Kimball’s downtown, the independent theater showing a few of the latest and greatest films as they drop, the ones likely to catch Oscar buzz. If you haven’t been in a while, the lounge has been renovated. Don’t worry, beer and wine are still available. Tickets on Mondays are $5.

• Discover a new favorite recipe: The only thing worse than the early dark doldrums is the same old-same old when it comes to dinner. Time to spice things up. Reawaken those taste buds and touch up those kitchen skills with a new recipe. Some favorites from the internet we’ve recently come across: double crunch honey garlic pork chops (courtesy Rock Recipes), chipotle chicken tacos (Carlsbad Cravings) and New York Times Cooking’s turkey chili.

Dining review: No temper tantrums, only smiles at Angry Chicken in Colorado Springs

• Skate away those blues: Nothing like the night-time chill and wind on your face to make you feel alive. If you don’t have your ice skating feet under you, don’t worry — you won’t be alone at Acacia Park’s rink under the lights in downtown Colorado Springs. Skates included with your $10 ticket.

• Holiday lights: Displays around Colorado Springs dazzle the kids and return the rest of us to our childhoods. The Broadmoor always delights, while the hotel’s scenic property, Seven Falls, is splashed in color as well. Other great traditions: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Electric Safari and Cave of the Winds.

• Get your binge on: When it’s dark for so long, you don’t have to feel so guilty about sitting on your couch and watching episode after episode of a TV show you can’t pull away from. Allow us to throw out some suggestions, a mix of drama and comedy: “The Crown” (Netflix), “Hacks” (HBO), “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu), “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix) and “White Lotus” (HBO).

Contact the writer: 636-0270

Short days, long nights.

Embrace, don’t eschew the darkness. Our part of the world will only be dark for a few more months before she brightens up again. Instead of moaning and groaning, let’s create contentment until the light once again returns to our lives.

Here are a few suggestions to make the most of the giant ink blot that is the sky.

• Visit a Dark Sky Community: The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of the Wet Mountain Valley. Aim your vehicle southwest toward Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, an area certified as an International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark Sky Association. That means loads of twinkling stars, hovering planets, gauzy galaxies and a newfound awe for the mystery and complexity of our universe.

• SkyView app: Download this free app, or one of the many stargazing apps like it, point your phone at the sky and watch a whole wondrous world open up. Point your phone at a sparkling star and the app will tell its name and what constellation it might be in. It also will outline the constellation so you have a better chance of connecting the stars for yourself. See that vaguely reddish bright object on the horizon? It’s Mars. And that other bright one? Jupiter. And there’s Orion, only on display from November through February.

13 weekend things to do in Colorado Springs and beyond: Holiday Homes, Zeppelin Alive, Vintage Market, Christkindlmarket and more

• Find a great podcast: Crawl under a blanket or three and allow the story, voices and characters to surround you in your tiny fort. A few suggestions: “Welcome to Night Vale,” a twice-monthly fiction podcast set in a small desert town that features local weather, news, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures and conspiracy theories come true; “Cold,” available through Amazon Music, in which host and investigative journalist Dave Crawley tackles a different missing persons case in each of its three seasons; “Dark Winter Nights: True Stories From Alaska”; and “In Strange Woods,” a fictional documentary musical with an original folk-pop score that chronicles the life of an 18-year-old after a tragedy in a small northern Minnesota town.

• Classic novels on audiobooks: With no tempting 8:30 p.m. summer sunsets to keep you out and about, the time is nigh to read all those classics you keep saying you’ll get to someday. That someday is now. Try “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” by Agatha Christie, “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis.

• Take a sound bath: Use your extra dark hours to encourage healing in your frazzled mind and body. Gongs and Tibetan singing bowls are often used during a sound healing session, and said to help reduce stress, pain and depression. Several studios in the Pikes Peak region offer regular events, including Yoga Studio Satya, Singing Bowls of the Rockies and Echo Studio.

• Soak under the stars: Colorado Springs townies are in close proximity to several hot springs. Don’t let the distance from the warm changing rooms to the steamy water be a deterrent. Gift your winter bod with a night float session at SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs, Desert Reef Hot Springs (clothing-optional hours) near Florence, Dakota Hot Springs (clothing-optional) or Indian Hot Springs in Idaho Springs.

• Fall in love: Because how delightful would it be to be in love by spring? And if you’re already ensconced with a partner, why not fall in love all over again. More than 25 years ago, psychologist Arthur Aron helped two people fall in love by sitting in a lab and asking each other the same 36 personal questions, which include: “When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?” “When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?” “How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?”

Lighting the way to the holidays: A roundup of displays and trains in Colorado

• Sneak into a speakeasy: We love being let in on a secret. That’s the feeling at hideaway bars around downtown Colorado Springs that offer steps back in time to Prohibition. Oh, and the cocktails are fabulous. A few of these cozy nooks along Tejon Street: Brooklyn’s on Boulder, The Archives and Allusion.

• Test your knowledge: How about a trivia night? You could, of course, host your own — picking the theme, rules, prizes and snacks for your best buddies. Or, you can check in with a bar or restaurant near you. There are weekly contests all around town.

• Movie night out: We’re partial to Kimball’s downtown, the independent theater showing a few of the latest and greatest films as they drop, the ones likely to catch Oscar buzz. If you haven’t been in a while, the lounge has been renovated. Don’t worry, beer and wine are still available. Tickets on Mondays are $5.

• Discover a new favorite recipe: The only thing worse than the early dark doldrums is the same old-same old when it comes to dinner. Time to spice things up. Reawaken those taste buds and touch up those kitchen skills with a new recipe. Some favorites from the internet we’ve recently come across: double crunch honey garlic pork chops (courtesy Rock Recipes), chipotle chicken tacos (Carlsbad Cravings) and New York Times Cooking’s turkey chili.

Dining review: No temper tantrums, only smiles at Angry Chicken in Colorado Springs

• Skate away those blues: Nothing like the night-time chill and wind on your face to make you feel alive. If you don’t have your ice skating feet under you, don’t worry — you won’t be alone at Acacia Park’s rink under the lights in downtown Colorado Springs. Skates included with your $10 ticket.

• Holiday lights: Displays around Colorado Springs dazzle the kids and return the rest of us to our childhoods. The Broadmoor always delights, while the hotel’s scenic property, Seven Falls, is splashed in color as well. Other great traditions: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Electric Safari and Cave of the Winds.

• Get your binge on: When it’s dark for so long, you don’t have to feel so guilty about sitting on your couch and watching episode after episode of a TV show you can’t pull away from. Allow us to throw out some suggestions, a mix of drama and comedy: “The Crown” (Netflix), “Hacks” (HBO), “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu), “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix) and “White Lotus” (HBO).

Contact the writer: 636-0270