On this shortest light day of the year, with a blizzard roaring, life crawls to a snails pace. Is this what it was like a hundred years ago? Life as nature intended.
IMAGINE. It is December 21, 1908.
A perfect day for a sleigh ride on Baxter Boulevard which borders The Back Cove. Wrap me in ermine, bundle me in the sleigh led by a perfectly matched pair of mares, snap the whip....let's go!
"Sleigh bells ring are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight, We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland." (Bernard & Smith)
Was it better a century ago or is it just the romantic view of days gone ? I believe that the images create an illusion which is always seen through tinted lenses. But I have found a way to make peace with today's 24/7 hectic life, while embracing the shortened hours of day light. I have become attuned to the ebb and flow of nature.
Nature has a way of jolting us to a pace that is more human. Two storms back to back provide that very dose of "natural" sedative. Gray skies have been looming since the 18th. The first blizzard arrived on the 19th just in time for the evening drive. The 20th remained a "day with no time." That is my description of when morning light is the same as afternoon. No visible sunrise or sunset. Just flat, gray skies. Such was nature's forecast of an ensuing storm. No weatherman mistakes here. Mother nature being 100% accurate. The ever so light snow began at 9:30 am on the 21st and in one hour gained to blizzard force. White was the predominate color and would remain so, even after the 4 pm sun down. Dense snow riding thirty mph winds blanketed the air as well as the ground. It's called a white-out.
And so the winter solstice came and went in a natural furry. All we could do was stay put, light candles and celebrate a cozy home.
Our friends the ducks were visibly absent for two days. I think they were riding out the storms tucked under the twin bridges a few fathoms down the foot path. But this morning they returned, with the tide ebbing into the "duck channel." Marching before the rising tide, ducks 
and geese together returned to the neighborhood. They announced, "We survived the blow!" CeCe and Daisy were as excited as I was to see our feathered friends. You see, they have become our "natural" gage of life's true rhythms.
Today the sun shines once again. It's journey north has begun. The season of rebirth is upon us.
Live in each season as it passes; breathe air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each. Let them be your only diet drink and botanical medicines.
Henry Daivd Thoreau
MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY HANUKKAH
