This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year's threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.
Margaret Atwood
Winter Sun
Beneath heavy clouds
blazing brilliant light it dropped
then fell out of sight
Saturday -a beautiful expanse of dune grass blew gently in the wind. (Saugatuck Dunes)
Sunday over ripe berries hung from a bare branch…but those looked like tiny buds below them.
Monday, a dark-eyed Junco sat still for a moment looking right at the camera
Tuesday, a neighbors Hydrangeas; blossoms dried, faded and gone to seed…delicate as paper
Wednesday in the garden, a dried up rhododendron blossom that Dr. Seuss could have drawn.
And on the beach, a pair of pigeon’s prints in the sand by Lake Michigan - as if he just stood there, looking over the water and then flew off
Today - Winter Solstice, the sun was muted by cloud cover but still came through - looking more like the moon.
Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind.
Sakyong Mipham
This is a time of year that often gets me down, so I did a lot of walking and looking for little signs of light and life. A little color, a little sun, some flowering plants with seeds and buds waiting for spring, a couple of footprints in the sand, the stars in the morning, the cold crisp air and crunchy frost-covered grass under my feet - all these things get me outside of my mind as well as my house and those are both good things. And today the days begin to grow longer again! Happy winter solstice- and Merry Christmas if you celebrate!
Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!
The morning sky on the shortest day. Within the darkness, there is the promise of light to come.