“i heard a bird sing in the dark of december.
a magical thing.
and sweet to remember.
we are nearer to spring than we were in september.
i heard a bird sing in the dark of december.”
-oliver herford
“i heard a bird sing in the dark of december.
a magical thing.
and sweet to remember.
we are nearer to spring than we were in september.
i heard a bird sing in the dark of december.”
-oliver herford
picture from a past solstice celebration
—
every year
one of my favorite things to teach and share with my class
is the story and traditions of the winter solstice
i get to play the sun
the children play the tilting earth and the seasons
who spin and dance and throw snow
as the season changes
the sun stays in the middle
offering extra light
to the other side of the earth now tilting toward it
knowing it will always return to them
even as our days grow shorter
they quietly rest on the ground
waiting, waiting
only to emerge
when the time is right
happy to dance once more
in the light of the warm spring sun.
—
*notes: here is my recipe for the winter solstice, and many thanks to all for your low-tech special effects support of this performance: torn paper snowflakes made by the children, many smiles, a bit of dizziness, a sun doing an interpretive dance, a person to turn off and on the classroom lights at just the right moment, a flashlight, a yellow paper sun, a dj to play the music (‘carol of the bells’ by george winston, and ‘here comes the sun’ by the beatles) at just the right time, and a class full of kinder/whirling twirling planets throwing snow, lying down, and awakening as emerging new life in the spring when the sun returns. somehow it all falls into place, each year a bit differently, as is the way of the world.
—
“spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. joy is the essence of life.”
-agnivesh
“winter, through your hoary frost, I travel on, longing to be lost.”
angie weiland-crosby
aren’t these just adult snowsuits?
—
“let’s spend the weekend pulling out winter clothes we put into storage last weekend.”
-author unknown, could be anyone from michigan
—
link for walking sleeping bags: https://amzn.to/3s1FXCA
the kinder celebrated the lunar new year
with a fierce painting of a chinese dragon
who will keep us all safe
woody the groundhog was scheduled to emerge this morning
on groundhog day
to predict how much longer winter will stick around
but..
we are now-
about to be hit with a MAJOR snowstorm.
—
it’s truly a week
to celebrate things
big and small.
—
in honor of groundhog day:
“what fresh hell is this?!”
-woody the groundhog
—
in honor of the lunar new year:
“so comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their ending!”
– j.r.r. tolkien
—
in honor of the snow:
“snow day, bring it!”
-beth kennedy
the great blizzards and a birthday – michigan history!
today is the anniversary of two of michigan’s greatest blizzards.
which both started on the same date January 26th, one in 1967 and the other in 1978.
also on this date
my brother scott, was born in 1965 under clear skies.
happy birthday!
—
The 1965 birthday. Scott was born, he was cute, and I wanted to bring him in for show and tell, but my mom refused and made me bring a picture, which I was really mad about. He did not like shoveling snow, but he did enjoy playing in it, sledding on our school hill at recess, and throwing it at us.
The 1967 storm. The big Blizzard went down as one of the all-time worst blizzards in Michigan’s history mainly because of the way the weather conditions quickly changed drastically and people were caught off guard. In the days leading up to the blizzard, some areas had temps in the 60s, quickly plummeted, and the skies dumped 1 1/2 feet of snow in a very short time.
The 1978 storm. Snowfalls for the entire storm included a whopping 30 inches in some Michigan locations. There were already 4 to 6 feet of snow on the ground before the storm started, and there were many drifts of over 15 feet.
In both storms there were wind gusts up to 65 MPH and both had several periods of thunderstorms with the snow, (thunder-snow).So far there has not been a storm that has come close to the intensity of either of the storms since 1978. My brother still enjoys playing in the snow and celebrating his birthday. And I’m glad for all of this.
—
“apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.’
-mark twain
—
credits: michigan history, clarence white
spring is just around the corner
Almost halfway thru January, February is a short month, then March …
it’s like only 20 minutes (as per Jerry Seinfeld’s calculations)
click on link below to see how much longer….