Winter Solstice

Here at wildflower blog central we are out and about looking for that last leaf of the season. Which is to say, the flowers are gone, it's getting colder, and our daylight is slipping away like coins left in a pay phone. We don't get paid for ruminating about the weather though, so the cameras keep clicking away even though our blog topics may lose some nutritional value as we plod into winter. But there is some positive; when we do have a sunny day, the low angle of the sun makes for some good photo ops, either natural or man made. So stay tuned for some of those in the weeks ahead.

And, just to expand a bit on that "dwindling daylight" topic, have you noticed how there is a hiccup in the winter solstice concept. It's not an obvious thing, but if you have an astronomy or meteorology bent you may have noticed that the earliest sunset (4:27 PM) of the year happens in mid December, not on the solstice day, which this year is December 21st at 8:49 PM here in our area. Likewise, the latest sunrise of the year (7:51 AM) comes for about a week in late December and early January. But, not to worry, the two shortest daylight dates this year are December 20th and 21st, providing an anemic 8 hours, 42 minutes, and 11 seconds of the good stuff. From there we add a few seconds to daylight each day, even though our sunrise times keep getting later until early January.

The short explanation for the difference is that solar time and calendar time are not exactly synchronized and you can't just go adjust calendar time every year to fix it. The sync problem seems to be due in part to the earth's tilt (23.5 deg.) and our elliptical orbit around the sun. If you want more detail, there are reams of articles out there to read on the subject. In any event, no matter how you slice it, December is a bad month for solar panels...

In other news, we are starting to see more of those shady lowlifes loitering about on local trails. Of course I am talking about our fungus friends, that show us not all plant life has to be colorful! One of my favorites, is the delightful turkey tail fungus which can be found on just about any dead log in western Oregon.

My fondness for mushrooms does not extend into the realm of hunting and picking them. I'll leave that to the experts and continue to enjoy the culinary side of fungus in the kitchen.

And speaking of the kitchen, a cup of that hot green tea is calling me. There's probably a cookie in there as well with my name on it. So to close out this post, the staff here at wildflower blog central sends best holiday wishes to you and your loved ones. May the new year bring many new opportunities to enjoy the natural world.