Tag Archives: seasons

Jan18

daylight.

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north manistee, michigan lighthouse pier

As days drag on and the sun still sets relatively early, you may be left wondering are the days truly getting longer? The short answer is, yes. But only by a few minutes. Each day in January we average an extra 2 minutes from the day prior.

By the end of February, we can expect an additional two hours and 30 minutes. February 28’s sunrise is at 7:20 A.M. And the sunset is at 6:30 P.M. The first 6 o’clock sunset of the year arrives on February 5.

As we ease closer to our longest day, June 21, we’ll gain an additional 6 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. The longest day of the year, the summer solstice on June 21, is 15 hours and 21 minutes long.

We’re on our way!

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“run for daylight.”

-vince lombardi

 

 

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credits: wxyz-tv detroit, isabella hulsizer, photo: john l. russell

Dec30

in the dark of december.

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“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

 

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art credit: “Winter Moon”, photograph by Ginette Brosseau
This dark winter landscape photo was taken not far from her home
along the shores of the St. Lawrence river in Quebec.
Dec21

essence of life.

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 picture from a past solstice celebration

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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. 

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“spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. joy is the essence of life.”

-agnivesh

Nov6

fall back.

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“we must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact

that each moment is a miracle and mystery.”

-h.g. wells

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on daylight savings time day once again – fall back 

 

 

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image credit: ‘fir forest’ painting by gustav klimt

Oct7

october slipped quietly in.

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“Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of the air and the endless freshets of wind? And don’t you think the trees, especially those with mossy hollows, are beginning to look for the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleep inside their bodies? And don’t you hear the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first tuffets of snow? The pond stiffens and the white field over which the fox runs so quickly brings out its long blue shadows. The wind wags its many tails. And in the evening the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way.”

~Mary Oliver, “Song for Autumn”

 

 

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art credit: willowday flower project by gina, stockholm

Sep12

changing.

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 signs of change are all around us.

 

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“the crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever.

even on the most beautiful days in the whole year –

the days when summer is changing into autumn –

the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.”

– E.B. White

May2

at last, may.

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yes it was yesterday, i think they may have over-celebrated and lost count. 

the fairy dance

the soft stars are shining,

the moon is alight;

the folk of the forest

are dancing tonight:

o swift and gay

is the song that they sing:

they float and sway

as they dance in a ring.

o seek not to find them,

the wee folk so fair;

they’re shy as the swallow

and swift as the air:

if you come, they are gone

like a snowflake in may:

like a breath, like a sigh,

they vanish away.

 

-katherine davis (1892-1980)

 

 

 

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image source: peter gray’s vintage art and postcards

Mar20

on the spring equinox.

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now is this isn’t a sure sign of spring, i don’t know what is…

 

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“spring makes its own statement,

so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of his instruments,

not the composer.”     

-geoffrey charlesworth

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Art credit: Margaret Tarrant – The Fairy Troupe / Spring’s Flowery Cloak. Circa 1920s painting. A female sprite with a blue cloak shepherds tiny fairies and elves, each carrying a spring flower, through the undergrowth. Published by the Medici Society.