Yay! We get 5 more mnutes of daylight every day from now on. This means there is only 4 more months of winter left. (Hey, in Michigan, 4 months is encouraging.) I took all the cardboard and feed sacks I could find and had a solstis bon fire in the back yard. The dog and I tossed in herbs and tobacco and danced around the fire. (Thank God the neighbors didn't call the police on THAT one) The carboard didn't last long, but it was cold and snowing, so neither did we.
It reminded me of when we used to have a big party for the solstis. There would be chili and marshmallows and pleanty of drinks to keep us warm. One year, we had some newbies at out party and just as we were joining hands to dance around the fire, one of them leaned in to me. She jerked her head over her shoulder at the nieghbors house. "Is he NAKKED?" she hissed in my ear.
I looked across the yard and had to confirm her ufortunate observation. It was our elderly neighbor who prefered to spend his evenings in the company of lively spirits instead of his wife. He was well on his way to inebration when he decided to step out on his back deck to relieve himself.
The dancing stopped and all eyes turned on one direction as the neighbor urinated off the deck, scratched his behind with obvious pleasure and WAVED at our group. As he went back in the house, I told our guests to considder him as the ground hog, once he makes his appearance, there is only 4 more months of winter.
Needless to say, the party ended quickly and the newbies never attended annother at our house. Honestly, what were they expecting, the Easter Bunny?
Happy Winter Solstis
Great story, almost wish I was there.
Jyl, I posted this on another thread, too. Last year just for fun I copied down the stats for sunrise, sunset, and hours of daylight around the solstice to see how it actually worked out. Of course it would be different where you are, but I thought it was interesting to see that the sun actually rose later for awhile, even though we were getting more hours of daylight!
12/20 Sunrise 7:16 sunset 4:39 9.39 hours of daylight
12/21 Sunrise 7:16 sunset 4:39 9.39 hours of daylight
12/22 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 4:40 9.39 hours of daylight
12/23 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 4:40 9.39 hours of daylight
12/24 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 4:41 9.40 hours of daylight
12/25 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 4:42 9.40 hours of daylight
12/26 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 4:42 9.40 hours of daylight
12/27 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 4:43 9.41 hours of daylight
12/29 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:45 9.43 hours of daylight
12/30 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:45 9.44 hours of daylight
12/31 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:46 9.45 hours of daylight
1/2 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:47 9.46 hours of daylight
1/3 Sunrise 7:20 sunset 4:48 9.47 hours of daylight
1/4 Sunrise 7:20 sunset 4:49 9.49 hours of daylight
1/5 Sunrise 7:20 sunset 4:50 9.50 hours of daylight
1/6 Sunrise 7:20 sunset 4:51 9.52 hours of daylight
1/7 Sunrise 7:20 sunset 4:52 9.54 hours of daylight
1/8 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:53 9.55 hours of daylight
1/10 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:55 9.59 hours of daylight
1/11 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:56 9.61 hours of daylight
1/12 Sunrise 7:19 sunset 4:57 9.63 hours of daylight
1/13 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 4:58 9.66 hours of daylight
1/14 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 4:59 9.68 hours of daylight
1/15 Sunrise 7:18 sunset 5:00 9.70 hours of daylight
1/16 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 5:01 9.73 hours of daylight
1/17 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 5:02 9.75 hours of daylight
1/18 Sunrise 7:17 sunset 5:03 9.78 hours of daylight
1/19 Sunrise 7:16 sunset 5:04 9.80 hours of daylight
1/20 Sunrise 7:15 sunset 5:05 9.83 hours of daylight
Sounds like it was an interesting party, but obviously some people just don't have a well-enough developed sense of the ridiculous! That's funny!
Well, I can pretend we get 5 more minutes of daylight. It makes me feel a whole lot better anyway.
Sure had me laughing!!!
Oops, guess the DH & I are doing all the Solstice dances wrong.....LOL!!
Jyl you're not alone!! I FELT way more daylight today!! Granted it was sunny instead of the overcast yuck we've been having. But I felt light out there til almost 5 o'clock!!
(can't say I have a nudey neighbor who appears at parties, you may be on your own there, lol;)
I felt it too, snowy though it be here. The sunlight positively glinted and sparkled!