WINTER SOLSTICE

    The four quarters of the year are of interest to me. There is a change at those times which is significant. Some changes are positive and some are negative. Now we can look forward to longer days and coming warmth if we're patient.

      Before the  internet and when I was a child we did not get details of time. As a child I would watch and wait for the solstice. we did not have any charts to tell us sun up and sun down times.

     So here it is: sunrise today was at 8:42. Sunset was at 4:24. We had 7 hours, 41 minutes and 45 seconds of sun up. For those who care, the day got .02 seconds shorter.

     I'm having trouble with blogger tonight as certain things  are missing

     

WINTER SOLSTICE

         Many people look forward to this special day. They say now the days will be getting longer. But, not so fast. From Dec. 19 to Dec  22. day length stays the same unless you want to count the seconds. 

       I do find winter solstice an interesting day. It's interesting that they think ancient  people knew and predicted the winter solstice accurately. I find it interesting that in much of the world people were nomads and lived outdoors. They did not have permanent housing. Since they were outside they could spend time watching the skies. They knew about phases of the moon, stars, comets, northern lights and constellations. 

      When I was a child growing up in the 40's we played outside in the snow after supper. We did not have electricity so  the farmyard was dark. Many days  I can remember watching the skies. I know that I didn't know much about the winter solstice. Many nights were clear and you had a good view of the night skies. We particularly liked the moon as it gave some light to play out doors. 

     We would go outside after supper when Dad would take care of the animals in the barn. The  animals were fed and the cows milked. When we got to be about 8 years old we started milking cows too. 

    I have concerns about the people of today. There is too much light for us to see the skies clearly. People do not spend time outside in the evening. I fear that they will not know much about the night skies as well as the winter solstice. 

    So today, the sun rose at 8:42 AM and set at 4:24 PM for a total  of 7 hours and 41 minutes of daylight.

    It was warmer here today but not because of the solstice. We had a nice sunny plus one Celsius today. 

MY OBSESSION

      I consider myself to be a fairly balanced feet on the ground kind of person.

      However, when it comes to the winter solstice and the time immediately before and after, I become overly interested in time. 

     When I was little we did not get daily papers with sun rise and sunset times. I just sensed that the days got shorter and then longer. I did not know how much difference there was. 

     When I got a daily paper sunrise and sunset times were given. 

      Now there are detailed charts on line that give you the times down to the second.

     Dec. 21:   sun rise  8:42 Am : sun set at 4:24 PM. Daylight: 7 hours  41 minutes and 45 seconds  The day got shorter by .05 seconds

      Dec. 31  sunrise at 8:44 and sunset at 4:31. 7 hours 45 minutes and 59 seconds of daylight.   The daytime increased by one minute and one second!

     I watch for these changes as I want to see the light come back again. It's intriguing now that these figure are precise enough that the are calculated in seconds. 

     You can go to a site called timeanddate to see a chart with this info and much more. 

WINTER SOLSTICE

      Today is the day we get the shortest day and longest night. This has interested me since I was a little kid. On the farm we played outdoors and were out at night. We didn't have electricity so the night sky was bright. We also new that when we played outside after supper it got darker every day. 

      When I got someplace with a daily paper and the records of sun up and sunset, the solstice was more interesting. 

      So today our sunrise was at 8:42 and sunset at 4:24 for a total of seven hours and 42 minutes of sun. 

      What I find interesting is that sunset on Dec.8 was 4:22 and on Dec. 21 4:24. So the afternoons have started to get longer. Sunrise on Dec 8 was at 8:31 and on Dec. 21 was 8:42. The sun is still coming up later. 

      Our average high temperature in Dec is -4 C and average low -16 C.

     So I always think of the winter solstice as going up a hill and you reach the top. Now it's down hill and much easier. 

WINTER SOLSTICE

       Today is that magic day of the longest night of the year. 

        Here the sun rose at 8:42 AM and set at 4:24 PM so we had 7 hours and 42 minutes of daylight. So today is the day when days are to get longer. Yesterday the sun set at 4:23 PM  Yesterday the sun rose a 8:41 AM so things have an adjustment to make before we start gaining back time for a longer day.

       Since it's winter in the northern hemisphere I am experiencing winter. Today our high was minus 28 C. Tonight our low will be minus 38. So yes,we are experiencing winter as it normally occurs here. 

       This is what it looked like at approximately 4:05 Pm this afternoon. The sun would officially set about 15 minutes later. 

WINTER SOLSTICE

    I like winter solstice as I watch the days get shorter and shorter. I eagerly wait until the days start to get longer and we move toward spring. I also like the folklore connected to winter solstice. Ancient peoples had a variety of celebrations for the day. They also were fairly exact in pinpointing the time of the solstice.

    So with all this in mind, I decided to follow the solstice a little closer at my place. I decided to go out and photograph the afternoon every hour to show how the day takes it's course.

      The first two photos were taken at 2:00 PM. The first one looking south and the second looking north.

The next tow photos were taken at 3:00 PM. The cloud thickened slightly.

   The next two photos were taken at 4:00 PM. The sun sets at 4:26 PM.

This photo shows the west were the sun set at 5;00 PM

     The last three photos were taken at 5:00 Pm. It's hard to show darkness with all the street lights.

     So today the sun rose at 8:42 AM and set at 4:24 PM.  It gave us 7 hours, 41 minutes and 47 seconds of the sun being up.

WINTER SOLSTICE

       I am always aware of the approach of the winter solstice. Some years I get very anxious and check sunrise and sunset times every day. Other years I know the shortest day is coming and that is all. 

      So today is the shortest day. Things will start to become lighter. Today we had one of those very dull days. We had the lights on for most of the day. There was heavy cloud and snow flurries. We got about 2 cm ( 3/4 inch)of snow. We had a high of minus 6 C ( 24 F). It was a most dismal day. 

     The sun rose at 8:42 AM and set at 4:24 PM which gave us 7 hours and 42 minutes of sunlight except that it was very cloudy.

   
      A recent morning with pale moon and jet vapor trail.

     What intrigues me is how people throughout history have observed winter solstice. They didn't have accurate measurements to tell when the sun rose and set. Yet winter solstice was very important to them. They didn't always get the exact day of the solstice. 

     The ancients realized that the solstice was an important day and in many cultures a celebration was held. Rural people knew that the days would get longer but knew that there was much more winter to be experienced. They knew that they had to have adequate food supplies for themselves and their animals. 

     Then things get a little complicated when we use different calendars. The day still happens. Only the number changes.

    So do you look forward to winter solstice ? What does winter solstice  mean for you?

Thirty Days Out from Winter Solstice

      January 21 signals that the winter solstice was 30 days ago. The winter solstice meant that it was dark and dreary with short days. We could satisfy ourselves by saying that from Dec 21 on the days will lengthen and we can look forward to spring.

     So I have a little comparison of Dec. 21 and Jan 21.


    Date            sunrise         sunset       hours of daylight

      Dec. 21              8:43                    4:23                       7:39

     Jan 21                  8:32                    4:59                       8:27

      
     So the sun rises 11 minutes earlier...not much is it?

    The sunsets 36 minutes later...nice gain.

    We get 47 minutes more sun than 30 days ago. 

     Not bad eh?  From now on the days start to lengthen at a faster rate and we start to notice the difference.

     How has your winter been going when it comes to hours of sunlight?

   

Winter Solstice

       Well, today is a day that many people observe and take comfort in that things will be getting better.

       Having days slowly get shorter and colder is not a very positive experience. Now we can look forward with some positive hope.

      The winter solstice has been marked for a long time as primitive people were aware of what was taking place and could name the date when the day was shortest and the night was longest. 

       Since I spent winters above the Arctic circle, I experienced nights that were six weeks long. that's right. The sun never rose above the horizon for  six weeks. Some people were devastated  by this situation. It didn't bother me at all.

      So where I live the sun rose at 8:43 AM and set at 4:22 PM which gives us 7 hours and 39 minutes of sunshine.

      We have lots of snow cover and have had sub zero C weather for about 4 weeks. 

The old snow stick with 15 cm or 6 in. of snow

That's right I skied today

The creek is well covered with ice and snow

Past The Point of No Return

     My title doesn't make much sense for this post.

     In Central Alberta we've had a fall with long, pleasant, dry weather. I was able to share many colorful fall scenes.  However, fall weather slowly and quietly cools until plant life has either died or become dormant so that it can survive the winter.

    Animals have slowly made changes. We still have bears wandering around looking for food as the berry crop was poor this year. We have many gulls, ducks and geese sitting around. However many ducks and geese are gone and song birds disappeared as much as ten weeks ago. And my favorite, the jack rabbit, has pretty well got it's white winter coat.

     Yesterday the sun rose at 7:40 and set at 16:56 so we had 9 hours and 16 minutes of sunlight. Changing to daylight savings time seems to have shortened our afternoons in a hurry and of course, that's exactly what changing back to standard time does.

     Yesterday the low was minus 8 C (eh) (18 F). The high was about 3 C. Small ponds are covered with ice. Larger ponds are half frozen. Of course, the lakes and rivers are still ice free.

     I, for one, enjoy the seasons of the year. It's one of the things that keeps us vigorous as we have to challenge the changes.

    In 45 days we will be at the winter solstice. We are 45 days from the fall equinox.

    Now the point of no return is meaningless here as the season comes no matter what. That's life.
 

Winter Solstice

       The winter solstice is one day that I really look forward to. Days start to get longer and we can look forward to brighter days.

       Today the sun rose at 8:43 and set at 4:22 giving us 7 hours and 39 minutes of sunlight. Today was overcast and we had a high of plus 2 C( 36 F). When I came home a few minutes ago it was still plus 1 C(34 F).

       These photos were taken between 2 and 3 in the afternoon.

     

Even with snow cover it's still very dull

Typical winter cloud

Looking directly west about 2:30 in the afternoon

     I like reading about the solstice from ancient times and the celebrations they had. They looked at it as mid winter and they knew that winter would wind down. I could never understand why we were told it is the first day of winter. Different cultures also had a variety of celebrations. Now I'm thinking,  was the solstice an important date in the tropics?

    My mood will brighten now for the rest of the winter.

Winter Solstice

     Today is one of the more notable days of the year for us northerners. It's the shortest day of the year! Winter solstice! It's the first day of winter! Days start getting longer after this!

     Here the sun rose  at 8:42 this morning and set at 16:25 this afternoon. This gives us 7 hours and 43 minutes of the sun being up. We had a clear frosty day. We had a high of minus 16 C(  plus 3 F) and now at 8:30 it's minus 20 C(minus 5 F).

    Most years I have watched very carefully as the days shortened and darkened. I looked at each day's sunrise and sunset. The shorter days caused me some tension. I did look forward to the shortest day as I knew things would get better. This year , all of a sudden it's the first day of winter and I'm surprised! I have not been following with dread the increasing darkness.

   Many cultures have celebrations to mark the winter solstice. Now the day passes quietly. 

   So welcome to longer sunny days! 

Winter Solstice

   Winter solstice is a magical day of the year. It's the day of the year when we have the least number of sunlight hours. For an outdoors person like me it's a notable day. For me the sun rose at 8:43 and set at 4:35. It will be a few days before the day light starts to increase. We had a clear sunny day with the temperature around minus 18 C(0 F).

    Many ancient cultures recognized the shortest day of the year and had it identified fairly accurately. There were numerous types of celebration depending on the culture. They recognized that the days were going to get longer and they celebrated even though in northern areas they knew that the worst of the winter season was ahead of them.

     So today I have some reason for a quiet celebration. Sadly we do not have any formal recognition of this day. 

Winter Solstice: Good times are ahead

       People look forward to the winter solstice. People count the days until winter solstice occurs because it means that things will turn around...the sun will shine for longer each day.

      For thousands of years man has observed the winter solstice. They may not have been too exact as the the correct date and various societies may not have agreed when the solstice exactly occurred. The solstice meant new life or rebirth. In many places it also meant the start of the really severe winter weather. 

     We have identified a serious problem that some people experience when the days grow shorter. It's called seasonal affective disorder or SAD. Some people respond to treatment with light. Others require drug therapy, but many just tough it out and feel miserable. Once the solstice occurs they gradually feel better.

     Since I was raised on the bald prairie I saw sunsets and sunrises as the sun appearing or disappearing above or below the horizon. I was keenly aware  of the amount of daylight we received. People in the past were agriculturists or hunter gatherers and lived much of their time outdoors. They observed the changes and organized their activities according to the amount of daylight received.

    I spent a total of five years in the Arctic. At this time of year the sun did not rise above the horizon. We had beautiful twilight for two to four hours a day. On the Mackenzie Delta the sun did not rise from about Dec. 3 to Jan. 8. We always celebrated in some way when the sun came back up over the horizon. The Inuit and aboriginals usually had customs which involved visiting and feasting during the dark time. It was difficult to travel with limited light and trapping was a challenge because the animals were less active.

     So today I feel that it is a milestone. I can look forward to nicer times as there will be longer daylight and some warmer times. I just feel more cheerful. I hope you feel cheerful and happy as well.