Is anyone looking forward to the winter solstice?

Bob,
I am. I grew up in Boston...hate the snow, miss Bruins hockey. I hate the shorter days that keep getting shorter. Then the shortest day is here, and I feel better about the other side.

In the same vein, I hate the longest day of the year. It means they all start getting shorter again. My wife has threatened to buy me a "sun lamp." Yep...she hopes it grows on me and helps me overcome the dreariness of winter!

Sun goes down at 3pm here now, we do have a sun lamp but it doesn't change anything...

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just had our first day of 38 at the cricket. Should be into the 40s soon! I live for the heat where we are and it only just got here. I hate when we cross the solstice as its heading back towards the cold every day, just a little bit closer.

Yabby

In response to Yabby, even though we're from a similar latitude, I don't subscribe to a great love of hot weather.  Anything over 32ºC. is wasted I say.  We've just been through a week or two with some pretty warm days, reminding me how much I hate the heat.  Mind you, I think I'd rather learn to handle that than put up with the sub-zero temperatures and snow that most of you Northern Hemispherians have to suffer. I suppose we get a bit of both down here so it balances out in the end.  I enjoy the variety.  "Four Seasons in One Day" is not just a Crowded House song, it's a reality around here.

Love those pictures, or are they paintings ?

Cracking dawn here in Snowdonia but was cold last night. It's been dry for the last few days which makes a change.

Nearly at the turning point now so "up hill" soon, full of optimism and hope for the next year.

Stay safe out there guys.

I mostly wait for the Solstice to be over... Right now we have 5h 17min from sunrise to sunset. The non-cloudy sky and full Moon helped the past few ”days”. By the end of January it will be much better usually

The dark does not really bother me that much, mostly just an inconvenience while driving or trying to get something done outside. Not a thing I can control at all, so no use to complain about it either So I just try to stay home by the hi-fi or the fireplace as much as possible. I do know people to whom the darkness really is hard. For some of them it is most likely just an attitude thing, but there is also a real known mental condition linked to it.

Kari, may I ask how did you get your national flag to show at the bottom of your thread please ?

Coxfledgling wrote:Kari, may I ask how did you get your national flag to show at the bottom of your thread please ?

When you write a post, you'll notice a list of Emoticons/Emojis on the right side.  There's a number of different flags under the "flags" tab.  Click on "View more emoticons" tab to find it.  Not every flag is listed.  The administrator can probably add what you want if it's available from his source.

Longer days YES now sunrise 7.25 set is 5.10 ish without looking I find it funny i eat at around 6.00 pm in the fall/ winter summer it 8.30 ? I like beeing outside as much as possible and grilling out is better !

Coxfledgling wrote:Love those pictures, or are they paintings ?

Cracking dawn here in Snowdonia but was cold last night. It's been dry for the last few days which makes a change.

Nearly at the turning point now so "up hill" soon, full of optimism and hope for the next year.

Stay safe out there guys.

I believe the first two are paintings, don't know for sure, I pulled them off the internet. Last two are pictures, last one Stonehenge where the Druids are presently congregating.

Real pictures. My home in Raymond New Hampshire on Epping street. I was a couple of hundred miles south in Bainbridge Maryland when that picture was taken. Navy boot camp freezing my heals off while waiting to get into the chow hall. Less snow, just as cold.



My older brother and me and "Ginger."

Great Nash!!

Good snow drift...

Last good snow in Snowdonia was 3inches, then another 6 on top.
Drained out nearly 2 liters of water from the lads bike tank a few days later


When we lived by the sea, a bad snow storm, cars abandoned, snow plough clears the main road a few days later, BAM, what was that says the driver, BAM, bam, bam, bam and a final bam, 6 cars written off !

Absolutely love the winter solstice. I think of it as the best day of the year with the days beginning to become longer. Conversely, the summer solstice is the worst as daylight begins to wane, albeit slowly.

BTW, I'm also a proponent of full year daylight saving time.

I agree. Never really understood why we need the time change

For me it’s just a mark of season change….. My wife and I ride the country roads in our area on the weekends and take a pair of binoculars and a camera mostly photographing birds….It’s also our time to talk and just hang out together away from the house…,, Season change brings new species in…. Some leave and others stay year round …..

i grew up in North East Texas, where we could experience all 4 seasons in a good day.

I've been living in Silicon Valley the past 21 years, where there isnt really 'seasons'
the hottest of the hot days? not really hot
the coldest of the cold days? not really cold
and everything seems to level out at night.
sure it rains here and there, and some mornings are chillier than others
but for the most part ? the weather is ideal.
long days in summer, long nights in winter, its what ya do.

Which is why I bought a retirement place in Colorado, .... so I can get back to seasons.
I'm actually headed there tomorrow. there is snow on the ground. My 15 yr old son is gonna get to drive a tractor, shoot some 22lr, sit by an open campfire, fly RC gliders. and spend time with some of my best friends.

I miss seasons. cold and dark is good.
it reminds us warm and light is coming.

I agree about the daylight savings. Practically no one’s job is dependent on the daylight, ever since electric light became common.

Besides, places like Dallas, TX have 10 hours from sunrise to sunset even today! Chicago close to 9 hours, hard for me to see the problem Good for you guys!

I remember Northern Exposure show Kim, but not that episode, fun show at the time, mid-80s I think? There’s also a movie, with Robert DeNiro (or was it Al Pacino) as an FBI agent sent somewhere in Alaska to investigate a murder. It was mid summer, and the sun didn’t set at all during those weeks and the guy could not sleep at all either.

My neck of the woods, today sunrise @9:47, sunset @15:04. ”Sunrise” as a word is an exaggeration in this situation, Sun just sort of lingers slightly above the horizon for a few hours. The view is out of my dining room window, at 12:35 today, that’s about as high it gets before it starts to set again. Today it’s great, since it’s a clear sky



We’ll get the ”Dallas Solstice style” 10 hour day again in late February

Yeah Jan. through March here it more winter weather What kind of bird is that rdw? The same all the time would bee nice for awhile till I loose my mind trying to do /Bee all i can bee Hope you and your son have some good Fun fling /shooting hanging out !!

Four....................Three.......................Two..........................One.......................Tuesday December 21'st Capon Bridge West Virginia 10:59EST

Getback, The bird in the photo is a Desert Cardinal…. There’s a few here year round but many more move in during winter….

rdw777 wrote:Getback, The bird in the photo is a Desert Cardinal…. There’s a few here year round but many more move in during winter….

Beautiful bird and one that I have not yet seen. My Eastern Bird Book naturally does not list it but my vintage Chester Reed book that I have had since I was a teenager does.




I have not seen a Cardinal around here ever since I gave up my bird feeder. Bears just wouldn't leave it alone.