Solstice, First Light: The Day of the Long Shadows

The solstice arrived on this day just before noon. It is the day of the shortest daylight and the longest darkness. It is also the day of the longest shadows of the year.

When I woke up, I knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to visit one of my favorite trees, the PSU Arboretum's red elm, and see how long its shadow was. It was a few hours before the actual solstice, but it was my only chance to visit on what turned out to be a very busy day.

When I arrived, the sunlight was beautiful. The red elm's tree-shadow was very, very long. It stretched about 2/3 of the way into the golden field behind the tree. So I walked the length of it, touching its shadow, as you would touch a loved one.

When I finally reached the tippy-top of the tree-shadow, I turned around and walked back, slowly, taking pictures all the time. This was a shot of some of the first light of day shining through that tree. Happy solstice! Happy day-of-the-long-shadows!

And then I went to work: my last official work day of the year, hooray! There was an office holiday party yesterday and one of the activities was making gingerbread houses. Several of the houses had been placed on display, and the Crittergators couldn't help themselves. They had to have a look: tiny houses, just their size! (See photo in the extras.)

I met a dear friend for lunch, and then hurried home to meet my husband, as we planned to drive to the Johnstown area in the afternoon to celebrate Christmas with my mother-in-law. We exchanged gifts at her house and then enjoyed a meal together at Off the Rak, a restaurant in Ebensburg, PA. A delicious steak salad for me, hooray!

So it was a solstice day filled with many lovely treats. But here is where it all began for me: in the field behind the red elm, in the glorious light of the first day of winter's morning, dancing in the shadows. The song: Andy Gibb, Shadow Dancing.