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| photo credit: Henry Mühlpfordt |
Happy Winter Solstice!
It is the darkest day of the year, and the shortest day of the year. But from now on, every day will be a little longer and a little brighter, until the year turns once more. This is a rough time to be a gardener, even in Southern California. Everything seems to be sleeping. You, perhaps, wish you were tucked in a warm bed, sleeping, instead of frantically rushing getting ready for the holidays.
As a counterbalance to Erik’s gloomy Apocalypse post, I’d just say that the Winter Solstice offers us this annual lesson: there is a dawn after even the longest, darkest night. And then things get better.
We may be facing many challenges right now, as individuals, as a nation, as a global community, but we’ll get through them. We always have, we always will.
Things will change, no doubt about it. The future will not look like the present. As Heraclitus reminds us, Everything flows. But life is always made up of equal parts joys and sorrows, no matter when, or where. So whatever winter festival you celebrate, take joy in it. Get together with the people you love best. Burn some lights against the darkness. Keep each other warm. Eat something delicious.
Our best wishes to you all! Thank you for your love and support.
Anyone here taken survival classes like this one:
http://dirttime.com/?page_id=388
I bought Mccann’s newest book and since I live in L.A.
I was going to enroll in a survival class conducted by
Chris Nyerges.
Anyone done this?
word
Hey Anonymous, both Kelly and I have taken classes with Chris–he’s a great guy and knows a lot about local plants among many other topics.
I absolutely live for the winter equinox. As days get longer, I feel better. Of course, Christmas cheers me up, so since I was in high school, I console my self with, “If Christmas comes, can spring be far behind?” Yes, I ripped off the last line of Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind. So, Christmas is my turning point, not a lot of difference in the equinox.
I have always had an affinity for the Winter Solstice. I happen to like the long nights and the cold weather – must be my northern European genetics or something.
I am outside all the time during the spring/summer/autumn and I enjoy every minute of it, but I save some indoor things (sewing, knitting, reading really long, obscure books) for the winter as a special treat. I see the winter as my time of resting from the work of the other seasons and although I still spend plenty of time outside in the cold, I look forward to these pastimes. If we have an unusually warm winter I feel cheated. There is nothing like snuggling under a fluffy quilt with a good book and a warm kitty while the wind blows outside.
Happy Solstice! Merry Christmas! Joyous Channukah! to all.