The squirrels, jays, and turkeys have just about demolished the Hawthorne berries. I hope next year’s crop is as abundant.
On this day after the Winter solstice, aka the hibernal solstice, I am happy to dwell on the detail that the days are getting longer. You can put these morsels in the “weird facts” compartment of your brain:
<> The December Solstice can happen on December 20, 21, 22 or 23, though December 20 or 23 solstices are rare. The last December 23 solstice was in 1903 and will not happen again until 2303. (Guess we missed and will miss that!)
<> The term solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, meaning “the Sun stands still.” This is because on this day, the Sun reaches its southern-most position as seen from the Earth. The Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction. It’s also common to call it “the day the Sun turns around.”
<> If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the increase rate of daylight hours depends on your location’s latitude – in more northern latitudes you will see a rapid increase in daylight hours compared to if you’re in the more southern latitudes. (So, there, Floridians, you and your summer-in-winter-come-visit propaganda.)
Today’s and tonight’s forecast is for a chance of snow showers. Tomorrow should be mostly sunny (you go, sun!), a wintry mix is predicted for Saturday (boo), and Sunday is mostly cloudy. Highs will be in the mid 30s and lows in the mid 20s, and since we do have snow on the ground, it will be a white Christmas and Hanukkah here this year. It’s snowing lightly now.
Till next time.
