I like fresh starts. Unknown adventures. Turning points. And I’ve had my share.
Today is the winter solstice (for us Northern Hemispherians). A time of change. When the light advances. When the seasons turn.
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— by Harald 6 Comments
— by Harald 4 Comments
I like to write about the turning points of the seasons, the so-called “four posts” of the astronomical calendar. In this case, the longest day of the year (for the Northern Hemisphere): the Summer Solstice. Today.
It’s the midpoint of the year for me (the year starting at the Winter Solstice). And for summer, it’s roughly midway in the growing season, halfway between planting and harvest.
— by Harald 2 Comments
I like to sit on my front stoop (means “small porch,” originally from the Dutch stoep) and watch the sun arc its way through the seasons. Above is a morning view I captured the day before yesterday. Our recent snow had melted but you can see some frost on the grass.
Because my house faces east—we built it that way; it’s a feng shui thing—I get to contemplate the movement of the sun as it appears over the trees one notch to my right (north to south) each day, working its way to the Winter Solstice, which happens to be today. After December 21, the whole process reverses until the Summer Solstice is reached in June, and the whole cycle repeats. It’s my personal light show.
— by Harald 5 Comments
The Winter Solstice (for us No’Hemispherians or NoHems) occurred on December 21 at 11:28 am EDT (UTC-04). The reason I’m posting this today is that December 23 is my late-father’s birthday. He passed on five years ago, but I still associate the year’s longest night with him. Not because of dark feelings, but really, the opposite.