I can't replicate what you describe on my Big Sur Mac mini, but when System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Show the day of the week and Show date are turned off and Time options is set to analog, the clock display appears so light it almost as if it were greyed out and if I click on the click icon and there are no notifications, the words "no recent notifications" appear but are almost invisible against the background of the desktop picture. The only reason I even noticed it was the "Edit widgets" button that appears further down the screen and is easy to overlook. 🤷‍♂️


"All you've got to do is own up to your ignorance
honestly, and you'll find people who are eager to
fill your head with information"
--Walt Disney