The first day of winter

Yesterday the sun stopped. We passed through the solar standstill, the solstice. The long autumnal procession of the sun’s gradual disappearance halted as we paused in the darkness on the edge of winter.

This morning we sat in the frosty pre-dawn cold to witness the sinking of the nearly full moon through thin clouds scattering along the horizon. Its round visage shined hopefully in this first full moon of winter, some would say the first of a new year. Watching this New Year moon as it misted into a hazy western glow, we felt the first hints of morning light sweep in from behind us. Slowly the first sun of the new year cut through the night’s frost to brighten a new season.

The day brings new radiance to a cold and aging world.

[Post 102 of 260 in my year-long challenge.] ♨