Well, Happy Winter Solstice! Eventhough it's also called Midwinter Day, it marks the beginning of the calendar winter season. Most important, it marks the arrival of the shortest day and longest night of the year, and the beginning of the days getting longer. That was always the paradox with fall. It was the best time of year to be on the water, but the days kept getting shorter, giving you less time to enjoy it. Of course the more comfortable sleeping nights were a joy too.
I guess you heard that last night's total lunar eclipse hadn't occurred on the winter solstice since 1638, or 372 years ago, making it a pretty significant event. Suspecting we may not be available for the next one, we decided to check it out. The sky was covered all day with dense, high cirrus clouds, so it was doubtful that we'd get to see it, but we got up at 0200, and the sky was clear. We set lawn recliners and cushions on the lawn, made hot cider, and sat back to enjoy the show until 0330 when the shadow had begun to move away. It had the red color they had predicted because of recent volcanic activity, and was interesting. At least now we can know that when we go spring paddling, each day will provide a couple more minutes of pleasure.
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