Well...today marks the "official" first day of winter...the winter solstice.
Brrr...
I woke up this morning, listening to the wind howling outside, and looked at the clock. I was disappointed to see that we'd missed seeing a historical event. If we would have only forced ourselves to get up at 2:15 am or so, we would've been able to see a total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice date; an event that hasn't happened since Galileo's day! Now I'm kicking myself; the kids will be disappointed too...at least one of them will be!
I guess I need to get over it, and start the day...which leads me to my original thoughts...
Our sermon on Sunday began with a comment about how much the preacher enjoys this time of year...the way it gets dark at 4:30 or so...the long evenings...
I have mixed feelings on the subject. You see, light motivates me! When I go into a room, the lights go on...when we watch tv, the lights go on...when we're milking in the daytime, the lights go on...there's something about darkness that can be a little bit depressing. It's the way I'm wired. (and maybe a little bit because my eyesight is aging along with me!) When our oldest leaves for school in the morning, it's still dark...when our youngest gets home from school in the afternoon, it's almost dark again! And...my chickens don't lay very many eggs on these short days!
There are definitely some positive aspects of the short days/ long evenings though...when we're finished with the evening milking, it feels just great to be able to shower and relax...no pressure to go back outside and get back to work! The equipment is put away and stays there for the winter...and there's something to be said for curling up with a blanket and a good book (with the light on, of course!)
One thing for sure...tomorrow we will have just a little more daylight than today!
What are your thoughts on the subject?
I miss the sunshine when the sun goes down early. Since we live overseas right now, we don't get that daylight savings time anymore, so the sun goes down around 7! But the short winter days are always nice to go out and look at the Christmas lights and to have more time to spend together with our families.
ReplyDeleteI was up at 2:55 a.m. this morning for other reasons. I remembered the lunar eclipse so I pulled the curtains aside to have a peak out side. The patch of sky over our part of the world was quite cloudy then. I suspect a fleeting glimpse may have been all you'd have seen if you were up during that hour too.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite kind of light is from far away. To appreciate that kind of light one needs a distinct absence of terrestrial light. Of course, I'm referring to starlight. Fortunately I live near a place where stargazing is decent because man-made light is locally sparse. Perhaps I'll take the kids out during next months new moon. Anyone for stargazing on a frozen lake?
Lovin' Life...I agree, the time with family is a bonus! In the summer we have to spend a lot of our evenings working,and although we might be working with our family, it's not the same!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous...we spent a weekend a few years ago a few hours north in one of the darkest places on the east coast...it was beautiful! Stargazing on a frozen lake sounds like fun...cold maybe...but fun!