Today is the shortest day of the year and tomorrow we begin gaining daylight. Despite the incremental change at first, it’s still a huge boost to mental health. And we need it here in Colorado as we brace ourselves for an arctic blast. Tonight it will get down to -12 degrees F and tomorrow’s high will be a whopping -1 degree. And thanks to the climate crisis, we’re also smelling smoke from a wildfire in Boulder County (almost exactly one year after the Marshall Fire last December!) Cold enough to kill people and dry/windy enough to burn everything down. How’s that for messed up?
Anyway, this is some kind of hybrid dragonly/butterfly we found while clearing out my mother-in-law’s house. The six-inch by four-inch, bejeweled curiosity now hangs in my writing room window and I just photographed it as the foothills went dark. The bluish tinge is a result of the Arctic filter I applied, which felt appropriate.
Here’s to more hospitable days. Happy Solstice, everyone!
Tracy Abell 
Thanks for the good news about soon to gain daylight
And happy holidays to you
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Just seconds gained of daylight, but we’ll take it, right? Right! Happy holidays to you and yours!
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For Texas, we’re also expecting very cold temps into the teens. Homes and apartment buildings here aren’t built for the cold. I have plastic, blankets, etc., hung and rolled up by the windows and doors. The good news is that it probably won’t last too long.
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Oh, Becky. I hope you’ve stayed warm today. It must be really difficult when the housing isn’t built for extreme weather. Even mine here in CO struggled…I noticed condensation on the ceiling next to an exterior wall. There was ice on the insides of our windows, too. Here’s to the brutal cold easing up on all of us!
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That’s for sure!
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