The shortest day has come, and gone

We seem to be making actual progress around here. I'll need to make one last check, but I think I'm finished Christmas shopping for this year. Thanks to the initiative of my new Son-in-Law, the TV antenna is once again conveying its signal all the way to the television set. (There were a few issues with the removal and reinstallation of the antenna and then the siding installation helped unconnect the old coax cable connections.) Most of the new windows will be installed by the end of today.

New Moon

Photo by J. Harrington

Did you celebrate yesterday's Winter Solstice? Not only was last night the longest night, it was also a new moon and overcast. That's about as dark as you can get. Now, can you feel the days getting longer already? (That's a joke!)  I find the 3 month seasonal lag between days starting to get longer and Spring finally, officially, arriving, then, later, between Summer Solstice' longest day, starting Summer's three month run, fascinating. For someone like me, having the sun start to return is one of the best Christmas presents ever. For those who enjoy snow sports, they've got at least three months of Winter to look forward to, and in Minnesota many years, four plus months. This all seems to work out pretty well for everyone. I suppose, as with many things in life, how we feel about something depends a lot on how we look at it, the cup half full or half empty perception. For this holiday season and all of next year, may your cups be at least half full on all of the days of every season.

sunshine through pines, longer days ahead

Photo by J. Harrington

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!


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