The Darkest Night

It is here.  The longest night.  The word solstice is derived from the latin sol, which means, "Sun" and sistere, which means, "to stand still."  This year, I feel in equilibrium with the darkness, and one of my favorite poems comes to mind: 

To Know the Dark

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.

To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,

and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,

and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.”

- Wendell Berry

from “To Know the Dark”, Farming: A Handbook

(Harcourt Brace, 1970)



Summer

It has arrived in its official capacity:

Summer.

I always have mixed feelings about this: Summer is such a beauty in it's chaos: The abundance of the garden, the overtly sexual flowers, the heat, the frantic schedule of fun and the cramming of time. I'm sad because the summer solstice represents the last of the waxing of daylight. And I'm so glad that I don't have to keep this pace all of the time! So I resign myself to just enjoying the moment for what it is.




Here are some shots of my yard that I took just a few minutes ago. The top flower is called "Red Hot Poker" and it is a favorite of the hummingbirds and honeybees right now. The collage represents (from left to right and top to bottom): Ocean Spray (a native), Tiger Lily, and Italian Plum (I need to thin these!).

Happy Solstice, Everyone!

Solstice

Today is the solstice, the longest day of the year and the first day of winter. When I walk outside, it's difficult not to agree that, in fact, it is winter. But to me, this is actually the last day of of that coldest season. Tomorrow, there will be just a little more light and the day after tomorrow, a little more still. Is that not the quietest and most powerful indication that Spring is on its way? Today, I enjoy winter to the fullest, because I know that it will soon be gone.