Fans of Greek mythology know Persephone as the Queen of the underworld, the dead, and of Spring. Farmers understand the Persephone period to be the days when the period from sunrise to sunset is less than ten hours, causing vegetables to struggle to grow. (And farmers to struggle with seasonal depressive disorder).
Sadly, at our latitude, the Persephone period has begun. We will count the days until Februrary 8, when we emerge from Persephone and our veg commence to thrive.