s0LsTiCe

The winter solstice.
The dark of the Year.
The wheel Turns.
'We rend; We end; We return, again'.
The stars shine on.

winter; sunset & sunrise

 A couple of evenings ago, the sun set like this.

 One morning walking to work, the path led into mist.......

The sun was rising over the railway embankment, illuminating the grasses on the field.

The beck runs through this field; the beck that leads to the river Calder.

The sun is low in the sky now. Dropping down to the solstice.

solstice-the standing sun

The sun stands still at the solstice. Last night, tonight, and tomorrow night are the shortest days; the longest times of darkness.
I'm lighting candles, enjoying the lights on the xmas tree, and celebrating the dark.
I made a xmas wreath, with greenery from my tree, and some eucalyptus branches from my friend's garden. It hangs on the gate; evergreens, the symbol of life through the winter.

And below is a photo of the iconic stones of Stonehenge. Taken when we visited Wiltshire last year.
Stonehenge was a place where both the summer solstice and winter solstices were celebrated. Both solstices occur at the same time; just at different places on the planet.
Whilst we shiver in the dark of winter, in the southern hemisphere they are celebrating the summer solstice, their longest day.
I love this planetary sense of balance and movement.

approaching the dark

In my home studio hangs this star.....a gift from my friend Pauline. An appropriate photo to share at this time of year.
Meantime I'm surrounded by temperamental machines!
My lovely old (70+ years old!) sewing machine, that was passed onto me by my mum, has stopped. Perhaps it too, wants a rest for the holidays? So I borrowed my friend Jackie's sewing machine. A much more up-to-date beauty! After a quick look, I discovered...oh! no foot! So whilst dropping off my machine at the shop, I bought a new foot for Jackie's. Only to try it today....and find that machine isn't working either!
My van, Blanche, is in the garage for her MOT (and more!); and the pooter is playing up, switching itself on and off, at random.
Sigh.
Despite all this, I'm getting 'merry like xmas' as Maya Angelou says it!
The tree is up; the wreath is on the outside gate. And I'm almost ready with the gifts and cards.
The dark is here; and I'm lighting it up, as we approach the Solstice. I sit with tree lights on, candles, and the fire on. It's a most seasonal vibe.

Summer Solstice

Happy Solstice!
A stormy sea view from last summer on Islay. Camped up on a fantastic beach site, and the sun setting over the western side of Islay. An orange ball, dropping into the horizon.
The weather had changed from hot and sunny as we camped up, to cloudy and windy. It fits the weather we're having right now. Lovely hot, sunny days, that have shifted to cooler, wetter, and grey sky.


Here at home I've been boiling up a dye-pot of eucalyptus leaves. Three bundles in the pot, awaiting unwrapping. What surprises are in store? Who knows. The kitchen is becoming, in the words of Leonora Carrington, 'an alchemical kitchen'!

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice 2011
The tree is up, and decorated; we light up the dark!
Tonight is the longest night; the shortest day. And three days remaining till Xmas.
This years tree is massive! I always have a real tree; and as our house is very small, I try to get a tree that will fit comfortably into it. But it's funny how a tree that seems a reasonable size in the garden centre, is huge when it's standing in the living room! Still, it does look beautiful. And the sweet resinous scent that greets us when we open the door in the mornings, is so evocative. Once the tree is up, I feel Xmas has really arrived.

Winter Solstice 2010

I got up in the early hours yesterday to see the Lunar Eclipse. Put my alarm on for 6am, and had a cup of tea (thoughtfully made by Jon, thank you!) watching the shadow of the earth moving slowly across the Moon's surface, as I stood nice and warm in my living room.
Had a perfect view; the Moon was placed in between 2 of the houses opposite, so I could see the silver being steadily eaten away by the rusty, browned stain. Against the inky blackness of the sky, the Moon really stood out. I finished my cuppa, then put on my outside gear and walked out into the cold morning to see the rest of the Eclipse.
There was a tiny sliver of Moon left by the time I reached the top of the hill. And the sun was starting to come out on my left, which lightened the sky to a very washed out pale blue. That earlier blackness had gone.
The cold has given us some beautiful clear mornings; this one wasn't a dark and murky sunrise. It was a sky of colours.
The sky had gorgeous pale pink washes amongst the blue-turquoise and pale greys. Small clouds were lit up with more solid pinks, standing out against the pale water-colours of the rest of the sky.
As the sun rose the Moon began to fade into the greys and blues of the sky. It lost that red-ness, and the Eclipse shadow shifted into pink tones, before taking up the blue of the sky surrounding it.
I had to look really hard to make out the smudge of the Moon, as it faded away, eventually becoming invisible.
It was like a 'ghost-moon'.
Around me the world was waking up.
The central heating of houses down the hill were beginning to crank up, with steam coming from their boilers. Trains were running on the railway line; known as 'ghost-trains', without passengers, to keep the rails clear of ice. Very fitting companions for the ghost-moon!
The sunrise was firing up the sky with brighter yellows and reds, in the east, whilst in the west, I could see a band of pale grey on the horizon. These clouds prevented me seeing the Moon emerge from it's totality, as it set behind them.
I didn't get another view of the Moon until it rose again, on the evening of the 21st.
Because everything is covered with a dusting of snow, and a hard, hard frost, there was an incredible light around me. It didn't seem to be 'the darkest night' of the longest night!
It was a beautiful morning. A perfect winter morning. I didn't take my camera, as I knew I wouldn't be able to capture it. Only Turner would have done justice to the light and the subtle colours and tones in the sky.