Seasons
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 10:22PM It's Wednesday 3rd December, 10pm. All is dark.The weather forecast tells of impending snowstorms and blizzards.
Agitated by the sound of some motorist tooting their horn outside, I throw my bedroom window open, and I breathe in the icy cold air. Already, a heavy frost has formed on the ground. The road, the grass, the windows of parked cars, all glisten from the light of reflected street-lamps thrown up by ice crystals. It's wintertime once more - it's still, it's cold, and it's so very beautiful. Where are the queen wasps of August now? - All hiding, biding their time in some strange subterrainian shelters. Incredible to think that that annoying species manages to hide away during the cold months, and get ready for the next summer.
I drive to work past both arable and livestock farming land every day, and over the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of observing a fine, noble, muscular bull that has been placed in a field full of young cows. He's a true no-nonsense man-cow, and he's been put there, no doubt, to impregnate as many of those bovine beauties as is his wont, and I'm sure he's up to the task. - Have you ever taken a stroll near to a field of young bullocks? Intensely curious and aware creatures, they'll all rush up to you en-masse, anxious to smell you out. As long as you make no sudden or anxious movements, you'll generally be fine with them, and they won't percieve you as a threat. (Mind you, once they've got their horns and are sexually mature, it's best to stay away, as the bull does not suffer a fool gladly!)
As for the huge, gangly-legged house spiders that roam around my living-room floor every September to November, they have all departed now. Where to? Goodness knows. No doubt they'll be back next year.
We call December 21st the "shortest day", but did you know that the earliest sunset (in the Northern hemisphere) occurs on or around 13th Dec, and that the latest sunrise occurs around 30th Dec, and that the "shortest day" (ie, 21st Dec) is merely the average of these two dates? Similarly, the latest sunset occurs around 30th June, while the earliest sunrise is on approx 13th June, and that the "longest day" is merely an approximation based around the middle of these two dates?
There's no political or sociological point whatsoever to this post - I simply marvel at nature, I love it, and I wanted to share my infatuation with natural things; the rising and setting of the sun, seasons, natural life cycles, etc. It's a really beautiful planet / solar system we are part of, whether or not you believe (as I do) that there is a God beyond and above it all.
As reggae group UB40 once sang back in 1981," Don't let it pass you by".
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Reader Comments (15)
Intereseing info about the longest and shortest days and the sunrises/sunsets. I never knew that.
Yeah Colm, for a long time I had always thought that the [earliest sunrise - latest sunset] occurred opon the same day, just like I thought that the [earliest sunset - latest sunrise] also occurred on the same day. I was very surprised to learn that in both cases there's a time-lag between them. It's truly fascinating. (To nerds such as ourselves!)
OK, it's coming up towards a moment which I have dreaded for a while: Time for me to sign off, for a while, I'm off to rehab. I;m shit-scared. I really don't want this to happen. Oh well. I'll be back in Feb or March next year. .hopefully. I think/hope. David, please don't erase me from ATW in the meantime,
That was a nice read, Tom. Especially the part about the bull.
Don't worry about rehab. -- rehab is better than NO rehab! And you'll be out before you know it.
See you when you get back. Maybe you'll write about it for us?
Beautiful piece of wordsmithing, Tom. As always, your beautifully intelligent mind shines through your exceptional writing. You're so incredibly gifted, my friend.
My prayers will be with you daily. Hold tight.
Indeed Tom, hold tight, wait for the light!
Take care Tom - you are always welcome here and you will not be erased. That was a nice post to finish this year on and I pray all be well with you.
David
Tom a bullock is a bull that has been castrated. You should never trust a bull no matter how friendly or civil they appear to be.
This puts me in mind of the story of the young bull and the old bull, a favorite of mine.
Tom
Best wishes that your rehab will help you to find the place you wnat to be and that next year will be a more fulfilling and contented one for you that this year. Look foreward to your return to ATW when you are ready to rejoin us.
Tom -
Good luck. See you soon.
Good luck, Tom. You have the intelligence, and above all the heart, necessary for overcoming this obstacle. You'll make it.
By the way, is Mr. M an old friend of ours? You know the guy who was like spring, under whose guidance everything turns green!
Tom, will look foward to your return in the spring (or sooner) as yet another great reason to look foward to that season.
Of course, President Obama will have cured the World of all its ills by then, but we'll find something to discuss.
Good luck Tom.
Tom,
I hesitated writing any sentiment here as I do not know you very well
After some thought though, I wanted to say, thank you for the beautiful post you wrote here, and all the best and lots of love to you in your quest for a better you. We all have our struggles, though different they may be, but in the end, we do all struggle together.
God Bless you.
Tom - one of the houses that we are looking at is surrounded by cow pastures. We were walking around the fenced-in part of the yard and a whole herd of bulls came en masse to the fence to check us out. Every time we moved, the herd followed us along the fence. I, being of city and mountain origin, had no idea that they did that. It was quite funny, until I noticed a cowpatty and hoof prints in the fenced in portion of the yard. Cows are very large and they scare me... Bulls? Forget it - I won't be able to deal with them at ALL.