Winter Shadows

It was so warm with the sun shining in my south-facing window yesterday that I left and moved to the north side of the house.  Thus I caught the long winter shadows that I rarely see, slanted from west to east across the golf course.

It had been a bright blue sky day with constant sunshine, a rare enough event in December.

But when evening came, just before sunset, the dark shadows were long and striking.  I thought the pattern of shadows intersecting each other was fascinating.

Winter Solstice

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.  So starting tomorrow the days will be slightly longer, and in about 3 weeks you should be able to notice the difference, I know I can.  In fact it's surprising how quickly you'll notice.

And of course we all know what that brings.  As the days lengthen before we know it we'll be enjoying spring!  Yeah!

What always astonishes me is how long ago the ancients figured this out, with surprising accuracy.  When we visited Orkney we went into the famous Maeshowe chambered tomb.  You have to stoop to get through the 30 foot long entrance passageway only 3 feet high, before you arrive at the central chamber, which is about 15 feet square and 12+ feet high.  The size and quality of the stonework is such that this has been described as the most important Neolithic buildings in northwest Europe.

The relevant fact is that the entrance passage is aligned directly with the setting sun on the winter solstice.  How did they ever figure that out?  The return of the sun each year must have been an important fact of life!  In fact one author has suggested it is not a tomb at all, but was used as an astronomical observatory. 

Maeshowe predates both Stonehenge and the pyramids, built approximately 5000 years ago.  So we've been celebrating the winter solstice at least that long!

In any case, the winter solstice has provided an approximate date for numerous religious celebrations ranging from Christianity to the originally pagan festival of Yule.  People the world-wide celebrate the day when the days begin to get longer.

Christmas Preparations

Christmas is pretty quiet here, with our grandkids living out west, but we're slowly getting some favourite Christmas decorations we love put out to enjoy.  Still have a small tree to decorate, another of those tasks I find difficult in a wheelchair!

Our small group of nutcrackers greets you inside the front door.

An old Christmas tree music box.

And some big bright red ornaments in a big bowl.

Can you believe tomorrow is the winter solstice!  Yes, we'll have much more winter, but after tomorrow the days will begin to get longer!  Spring is just around the corner.

Winter Birds!

I've actually been worried about how few birds are passing by our feeders this winter, so I was delighted to see a number of birds fluttering around the feeders when I passed through the kitchen later in the morning.  There were several Chickadees and Goldfinch, and at least one each of White-breasted Nuthatch and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

My first good shot was of a Chickadee and a White-breasted Nuthatch.

The Nuthatch kept moving down and the Chickadee quickly flew away.  There's obviously a goldfinch on the opposite side of the feeder too.

The Goldfinch will occupy a perch and simply keep eating.  Chickadees pick up an individual seed and carry it away to hammer it open.

One flew in in spite of the Goldfinch sitting there,

but the Chickadee was soon just hanging off the bottom of the feeder.  Never-the-less, I am encouraged with the prospect of winter avian visitors.

A Shattering Experience!

At physio last week I was greeted by this friendly skeleton!  Well, the skeleton is there every week, but this time he had a friendly Santa hat on.  Enough to make me smile.

But as I ended my appointment and was getting my coat on, I wasn't smiling at all.  I was just inside the front door when an older lady drove up to park in one of the handicapped spaces right outside.  Except she must have stepped on the gas instead of the brake and crash!  She smashed right into the glass and the door frame shattering the glass which exploded everywhere, and bending the door frame.

Everyone in the clinic came running and an ambulance was called.  It appeared that no-one was hurt, which is the good side, but I fear that someone might lose their license.  In the meantime, I left in the opposite direction.  The physio clinic is attached to the medical clinic here, so I was able to leave by using their door, and my ride was waiting right outside.  It was only after I got home that I realized the police might have wanted to talk to me as a witness.

Beautiful Winter's Day

We got lots more snow overnight, but woke to beautiful sunshine, at least for awhile.  The forecast calls for slightly rising temperatures, a fair bit of sun tomorrow, and a nice winter week ahead.  Looking forward to it, since it's what the weather is supposed to be like at this time of year.

Sure provides for stark shadows, doesn't it!

The Storms Come and Go

The winter weather goes up and down as we know to expect.  We've now gone through a couple of warmer (4-5°) days leading to a big melt, and now the snow and colder temperatures are back!  Wind makes for bad driving (and missed caregiver visits), and today an actual forecast of a blizzard!

On two mornings the sun actually came out, and as the temperature climbed above freezing, the snow started to melt, or more accurately to 'sublimate', simply disappearing into the atmosphere.  You'll notice that the top of our snowstick has been partially exposed in the lower left.

With the sun out, the shadows were back, though they were shadows of fewer trees now that all the ash had been removed last summer.

Then this morning we woke to much colder temperatures and blowing snow.  You could hardly make out the houses across the street.  No caregivers today!

And the living room window, facing north, was plastered with snow, blown against the glass.  You may be able to see in the lower left hand corner that our snowstick has disappeared again.  Meanwhile I'm making the best of my winter hibernation, as I enjoy sitting by the window and dwelling in memories of the summer.