The winter solstice has passed. It was a cold, cloudy, but not stormy day. From now on there will be a little more light every day. I missed the eclipse of the moon, but the fact that the moon was full on the same night as the solstice gave us more light than we would have had in spite of the cloud cover.

I’m finishing a few Christmas batik and will be doing lots of wax painting in the months to come. Dyeing the fabric will be very limited, due to my poor sink facilities.

As I look out of the window this morning, all is muted white to the west. There is a light mist of snow-rain, that dims the view of the Adirondack mountains. I’m glad there is this light snow cover to brighten the earth. Two squirrels climb the tall nearby trees and jump from branch to branch. A red headed woodpecker, pounds into an old rotted branch. Champion, my calico cat sits fascinated in the window.

I am looking forward to a white Christmas (it doesn’t need to be too deep!), and I’m thinking back to the brilliance after an ice storm, everything glittering in the sun. Merry Christmas!