Tag: Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice. The Days are Getting Longer

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, photog's Corner, Photography

How’s that for optimism!

Winter Solstice Late Afternoon Light, Sony A7 III, Sony 35mm f\1.4 lens

Well anyway, there’s no snow on the ground and I have a good supply of Christmas cookies thanks to Camera Girl’s indomitable kitchen work ethic.

Christmas Cooking, Sony A7 III, Sony 90mm f\2.8 macro lens

Regardless of the disorienting weirdness engulfing the world around us we must try to enjoy the holiday season. And I will. So I think I’ll extend myself this morning and try to check off something from my to-do list. Where is that list anyway?
Here’s an image from an earlier part of 2023 that I like.

Quote for the Winter Solstice 2022

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“The days were growing shorter, the light was quickly failing, and towards the end of

each afternoon the heart became uneasy. A primitive terror seized us – that of our

ancestors who during the winter months watched the sun go out a little earlier each

day. ‘Tomorrow it will go out for ever,’ they must have thought in despair, and spent

the entire night on the heights in fear and trembling.”

Nikos Kazantzakis “ZORBA THE GREEK”

21DEC2022 – Winter Solstice

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, OCF, photog's Corner ,

Winter Solstice.  The first day of winter, the day when the sun spends the least amount of time above the horizon.  The longest night of the year.  Well, while some neo-pseudo-druids will be cavorting around the Stonehenge site I’ll spend today reveling in the joys of the season.  I’ll watch some more of my favorite seasonal movies, eat some more Christmas cookies and try to work off the calories with some exercise.  Camera Girl is devilishly busy with her preparations for the Christmas feast and I am more or less nothing but a hindrance to her at this point.  I ask if I can help and just get scowls of contempt for what she considers hollow offers.  Maybe I can carry some heavy pots of soup or sides of meat downstairs.  But other than those few things I’m essentially of no use to her.  Well, what can I say?  God has divided us, quite wisely, into men and women and along those same lines he has provided or withheld various talents to the members of the human race.  And like the fabulous ant and grasshopper of Aesop some of us toil and are productive and others of us feast and sing.  I am cursed to be among this latter group.  And Camera Girl is solidly in the former category.  Such is life.

It’s bright daylight today.  I intend to walk around in the woods and snap a photo or two of whatever strikes my eye.  If tonight is as clear I must take a walkaround in the starlight and enjoy a sight of the winter constellations on this longest night.  In fact, the moon is on the next to last night before New Moon so viewing the sky will be almost optimal.  Orion will be about 45 degrees above the horizon at about 11 pm and that’s when I’ll take a wander outside.  The forecast is for mostly clear skies and 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Sounds pretty good for late December in New England.

The world diverges into two contrasting pictures.  When I hear what is going on in the wide world it is a ghastly disaster.  Evil men run just about everything there is to control.  Joe Biden is a symbol for a world collapsing into decay.  But when I look at my personal world, I see good things all around me.  Good people are working hard to improve the lives of their families and displaying wonderful qualities of self-sacrifice and industriousness.  I see youngsters working hard at their studies and displaying intelligence and good will.  So, it’s a paradox.  How can so much good exist in a world that has embraced nihilism and irrational goals?  And I must say I haven’t an answer.  But I will celebrate the good and hope for the future no matter how bleak the big picture seems to be.

So, I’ll go out today and take the optimistic approach.  From here on in the hours of daylight will be increasing and the New Year comes with the ever-renewed hope that the world will come to its senses.  That’s good enough for today.