The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
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“First of all,” (I just know you’re asking) “just what the heck is a solstice and what does that have to do with noting life’s patterns?” Umm, you’re being rhetorical, right? What? You mean you’re not actually certain what a solstice is all about? Oh boy, did you come to the wrong right place.
To make this easy, the Earth orbits the sun in an oval-shaped path. There are two points on that oval-shaped path (technically referred to as an “ellipse”) that are most distant from the sun. One of those points is happening right now, and the Earth’s axis in the hemisphere that contains the North American continent is pointed away from the sun, so we’ve been getting less daylight daily since the summer solstice, but for the next six months now we’ll get more and more daylight daily.
Also, the period between the autumnal equinox and the spring equinox is usually colder most of the time than the other six months, if you’re in the northern hemisphere.
Sigh. It gets complicated.
Actually, none of the above is strictly accurate. It runs more like this:
To make it harder, read all this.
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year, when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. Either pole experiences continuous darkness or twilight around its winter solstice. The opposite event is the summer solstice.
The winter solstice occurs during the hemisphere's winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (usually 21st or 22nd December) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (usually 20th or 21st of June). Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment, the term also refers to the day on which it occurs. The term midwinter is also used synonymously with the winter solstice, although it carries other meanings as well. Traditionally, in many temperate regions, the winter solstice is seen as the middle of winter; although today in some countries and calendars it is seen as the beginning of winter. Other names are the "extreme of winter" (Dongzhi), or the "shortest day".
Since prehistory, the winter solstice has been a significant time of year in many cultures and has been marked by festivals and rituals. It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the Sun; the gradual waning of daylight hours is reversed and begins to grow again. Some ancient monuments such as Newgrange, Stonehenge, and Cahokia Woodhenge are aligned with the sunrise or sunset on the winter solstice.
source: wikipedia
Had enough of the freakin’ Winter Solstice information? Thought so. Here’s the photos I mentioned.
American Valley, Quincy, CA. Land that I love.
Almost Winter Solstice… Dec. 20, 2023
The past two days had been rainy, and I was thinking my reference photo for American Valley, on the day before the actual solstice, would be very dreary, but the rain stopped last night and it was foggy as all get out this morning, then around 11:00 a.m. the sun did its heating thing and the fog lifted. However, I waited until the afternoon to get out because then the sun is at my back for this particular ride I make.
So, there it is, the full seasons for 2023, American Valley in photos.
Saw these hawks today, might as well show them too.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk(s)