The Shortest Day

For the most part, I’m not a fan of the dark. The long days of winter are a serious challenge for me, especially when the cold makes the few daylight hours hard to enjoy. Moving from Chicago to Tennessee has helped with that, but still . . . You’d think the Winter Solstice would be a picker upper—longer days ahead and all of that—but  instead it feels like night has won, at least for awhile.

The one thing we can do here in Tennessee that was much harder in Chicago  is get out and be part of the natural rhythm. Blade and I took advantage of the warm weather we’ve been having and soaked up as much of today’s sun as we could on a long walk.

We came across a fallen tree and spent awhile looking at the part that was high in the air a few days ago. 

Blade used it as a balance beam while I ran my hands along the rough, wet bark and tried to imagine what it means that trees fall . . . nothing and everything.

Blade had a great time smelling the damp earth and sticking his nose in cracks and leaf piles.

And the bee hives. It’s warm enough that a few bees were out.

I also hung out with the chickens for awhile, and worked, and knitted. I’m still a bit behind on my scrap yarn socks. This is up through Day 17.

Tonight, I’m stopping to knit washcloths for my dad for Christmas. He loves knitted cloths for dish washing, and I love knitting them for him. This year, I’m using Knit Picks “Dishie” for the first time. I’m anxious to see how it works out.

What are you doing this Winter Solstice? Whatever it is, I hope it makes you happy. Some year, maybe we can all go together to the Tropic of Capricorn and watch the sun seem to stand still and then slowly reverse its course. I’m not sure if that would make this day better or worse, but it would be something I’d love to see. And we’d bring our knitting, of course. Thank goodness for knitting.