Riddles

The bottom of me is as thin as a cane,
In times of need I provide shelter from rain.
I come in many sizes and shapes,
You could compare me to a warm black cape.
My spindly arms are welcoming and wide,
Under me is one of the best places you might want to hide.
What am I?

I am the cause of a damsel in distress,
I create quite a mess.
I feed off the chocolate that you eat,
To turn that into something else is a rather amazing feat.
I leave you clutching your mouth all day,
But you can get rid of me if you wish to pay.
What am I?

I have many hands, usually two or three,
If you want to know what's late or early you can just look at me.
My hands move without missing a beat,
When they've gone all around me the pattern repeats.
If I've got numbers at my edges, around all 360 degrees,
What in the world do you think I could be?

I awaken by the sun's brilliant leave,
Upon the ground I glow and the darkness I weave.
I am a dove among a sea of black silk,
As smooth and white as milk.
I get smaller and smaller as the days go by
Until I am non-existent to the human eye.
And then I slowly begin to become revealed,
Until I am once again as white as an ice field.
If as the sun comes up I wave goodbye,
What am I?

I decided not to post answers to these riddles on the blog post itself in case I spoiled someone's thinking. If you would like the know the answers, click on the comments link for this post.