Today is the shortest day of the year,
and the first day of winter.
The Winter Solstice.
Essentially, the northern hemisphere
experiences a shorter amount of sunlight
because of the tilt of the earth's axis
away from the sun.
So,
from here till approximately
June 21st,
the days will get longer.
I know the hens will appreciate that.
They run to the coop by 4:30
or so every evening
and
less daylight,
means less egg production.
Also...
This phenomenon.....
the Great Conjunction
of Saturn and Jupiter,
has not been seen in
nearly 400 years
and nearly 800 years since
those 2 gas giants came that close
in the night sky!
And it's visible for several days.
Hopefully the clouds will clear enough
tonight to see it.
🌟
*******************************
🎅
Only 4 days till Christmas,
and the stores are filled with
toys, gifts and poinsettias.
Why poinsettias?
Dunno.
I hadda look that up.
(Thanks Wikipedia)
Poinsettias are a warmer climate
native of Mexico,
so how come they are synonymous
with Christmas?
In their wild state,
they are a leggy green
nondescript weed-like plant
that the Aztecs used as a fabric dye
and the milky sap as a fever control medicine.
The plant we see now was the direct result
of an amateur botanist,
Joel Poinsett,
who was also a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico
back in 1828,
he fell in love with the unusual plant
and brought some back to
his home in South Carolina.
This other botanist guy in California,
who was acquainted with the work of Mr. Poinsett,
figured a way to make the plant less
weed-like and more able to cause the "flowers"
(actually colored leaves) to be more
vibrant and flower-like.
Since traditional flowers are scarce in
winter weather,
the Poinsettia grown in hothouses,
flourished.
And,
the rest is history....
***********************
Lantana.
I didn't know that it was deciduous.
Sometimes the lack of potassium
in the colder weather soil
can cause this.
But,
I love it's beautiful mahogany color.
The flowers are still blooming
but, it's slowly shedding it's leaves.
Mother Aloe
in full bloom again.
I love her coral colored flowers.
Close up of the flowers...
Russet potatoes.
The CEO is trying something new
by starting the plants in containers.
We'll see how this compares to regular
"in-ground" growth.
The peppers are still producing
and we harvested
3 tomatoes yesterday.
Lavender,
a cousin to rosemary,
is looking and smelling good...
😄
*****************************
Ethel,
stalking a cricket in the grass.
She's a good hunter
so I'm sure she'll nab it soon.
Nugget,
sitting in the oregano pot
looking in the bay window.
That's her vantage
spot, but
the oregano is showing
her "sit" spots.
I shooed her outta there!
(that's a cast iron alligator in the reflection)
A frequent visitor is
this little calico girl.
She is hen pecked on a
regular basis, bless her heart, but she keeps
hanging out with the hen bullies.
And she always talks to me.
She's not homeless.
She belongs to a neighbor
so she's well fed.
She likes the fowl company.
😂
**************************
This surround was built in 1880.
Today is the 400th anniversary
of the Pilgrims landing
at Plymouth Rock.
This is a small piece of the original boulder
where the Pilgrims were thought to have
landed in the New World.
It's controversial if they did or didn't
land here, but it's a monument nonetheless.
(Nice monument to a rather anticlimactic rock)
But,
the Pilgrims did give us something
else besides that famous rock,
This is the Plymouth Rock chicken.
A member of her breed was brought on board
by the Pilgrims and they were thought
to have died out by 1849 because
none had been seen.
But,
They were found flourishing
in an upstate Massachusetts
farm by the late 1870's.
Neat!
**************************
Something to think about....
*****************************
The high today looks to be 63,
the low...
I ate half of the cranberry orange loaf
I baked yesterday.
😖
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