Winter has arrived.
Pretty, but crazy!
And slippery!!
The snow started last night and fell heavily for most of yesterday with high winds that had the snow streaking horizontally instead of actually falling.
I’m not sure exactly how much has fallen and I don’t think it’s done yet.
But we’ve actually had a long autumn, given that we tend to measure it according to how early or late the snow arrives here in Ottawa.
It makes little sense to me that Winter Solstice is billed as the official start of winter and it’s interesting to note that the solstice was termed Midwinter by the Pagans/Celts/Old English or whatever you care to call them, who considered Halloween, or Samhain, the beginning of winter.
Even though they fit the European seasons with slightly more precision than they do ours, the eight nature-based divisions of the pagan wheel of the year form a natural rhythm to seasonal progression that I find very appealing.
(No, I’m not Pagan or Wiccan, but I appreciate some of their earth-centric elements.)
This is the season in which it feels natural to me, once the snow arrives, to slow life down a bit – a time for quiet reflection, a time to enjoy family and friends and, in a few more weeks, to celebrate the return of the sun and the beginning of a new year.
And most of what seems natural is in total conflict with what many of us end up doing at this time of year – too bad.
Dragonfly Stew 