Standing Still in 2018

These days, I feel like a single candle, cursing the darkness, both literal and figurative.


The Anthropocene weighs heavy on my mind, and heart:

Standing Still 2016

Persephone with her pomegranate. Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Proserpine (Oil on canvas, 1874) - Tate Gallery, London


This season's solstice (Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Summer in the Southern), occurs at 10:44 UTC, December 22, 05:44 Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00), December 21. Etymology: Latin solstitium (sol "sun" + stitium, from sistere "to stand still")

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

This year feels darker than most. Yesterday, as expected, the U.S. presidential electorate election was affirmed. "Standing Still" takes on a different meaning if there's a chance the light won't return.



So we light a candle against the darkness, and try to keep it lit. If I'm feeling hopeful, I might reflect on these lyrics from Peter Gabriel's song written in memory of Stephen Biko, who would have been 90 this past week:

You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire.
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher.

Wishing for peace, wishing you peace, these dark days.

This page has a little MIDI file which bangs out the tune so you can follow the score.

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.

Related Content

Solstice: 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Links

Wikipedia: Solstice

Standing Still

Persephone with her pomegranate. Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Proserpine (Oil on canvas, 1874) - Tate Gallery, London


This season's solstice (Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Summer in the Southern), occurs at 04:48 UTC, December 22, 23:48 Eastern Standard Time (UTC-05:00), December 21.

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.
Etymology: Latin solstitium (sol "sun" + stitium, from sistere "to stand still")

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

We've had no clear winter here in NYC. It finally got "cold" over the weekend, with temperatures threatening frost, but not quite making. So far, Central Park has had the 3rd longest run of frost-free days in history, and we are within reach of breaking the record.

Dona nobis pacem / Let there be peace

This page has a little MIDI file which bangs out the tune so you can follow the score.

Related Content

2010: From Dark to Dark: Eclipse-Solstice Astro Combo
2009: Standing Still, Looking Ahead
2008: Stand Still / Dona Nobis Pacem
2007: Solstice (the sun stands still)

Links

Wikipedia: Solstice

The Sun stands still

This season's solstice occurs at 11:03 UTC, 6:03 Eastern Time. It's winter in the northern hemipshere, summer in the southern.

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.
Etymology: Latin solstitium (sol "sun" + stitium, from sistere "to stand still")

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

It's clearly winter here. The past few days the high temperature has hovered around freezing, and skies have been overcast. Gray, cold days. There seems to be little light in the world at large, these days. Sometimes it's enough to just hold out for warmer, greener days.



Dona nobis pacem / Let there be peace

This page has a little MIDI file which bangs out the tune so you can follow the score.

Related Content

2010: From Dark to Dark: Eclipse-Solstice Astro Combo
2009: Standing Still, Looking Ahead
2008: Stand Still / Dona Nobis Pacem
2007: Solstice (the sun stands still)

Links

Wikipedia: Solstice

Dare we Dream of Spring? Happy Imbolc (Groundhog Day) 2011

Update 2011-02-02: Flatbush Fluffy didn't see his shadow this morning. He did see his reflection in the sheet of ice that covers everything. Not sure what that means.

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The snow in the backyard - undisturbed by shoveling, snowblowers, drifts, and pedestrian traffic, save for a few small, furry quadrupeds - is above my knees, about two feet. As I write this on the eve of the last day of January 2011, there is yet another Winter Storm Watch in effect, the billionth this Winter.

For the first day of February, the National Weather Service predicts snow, snow and sleet, freezing rain, sleet and snow, ice, freezing rain, snow and sleet, snow, then freezing rain, in that order. That's just Tuesday. It continues into Wednesday, Groundhog Day, with much the same result. The sole consolation is that come Imbolc morn, Flatbush Fluffy, the resident Marmota monax, will not see his shadow. Dare we dream of Spring?



The groundhog, Marmota monax, also known as a woodchuck, groundhog, or whistlepig, is the largest species of marmot in the world.

From Dark to Dark: Eclipse-Solstice Astro Combo

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.


This season's Solstice (Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Summer in the Southern), occurs at 23:38pm UTC on December 21, 2008. That's 5:38 PM tomorrow evening where I am, in the Eastern Time zone.

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

This year's Winter Solstice is remarkable for an unusual astronomical coincidence: The lunar eclipse occurring later tonight, early tomorrow morning. I've seen a range of reports on the last time this occurred, from 372 to 645 years. According to Wikipedia, the last time this occurred was in 1638. Whatever, it's in centuries, so rare enough for my lifetime.

In the New York area, the eclipse will officially begin on December 21 at 12:29 am as the Moon begins to enter Earth’s outer, or penumbral, shadow. But even in clear weather sky watchers will not notice any changes in the Moon’s appearance until about 1:15 am, when a slight “smudge” or shading begins to become evident on the upper left portion of the Moon’s disk. The first definitive change in the Moon’s appearance will come on the Moon’s upper left edge. At 1:33 am the partial phase of the eclipse will begin as the Earth’s dark shadow–called the umbra–starts to slowly creep over the face of the full Moon. At that moment the Moon will be roughly two-thirds of the way up in the sky as measured from the southwest horizon to the point directly overhead.

At 2:41 am the eclipse will reach totality, but sunlight bent by our atmosphere around the curvature of the Earth should produce a coppery glow on the Moon. At this time, the Moon, if viewed with binoculars or a small telescope, will present the illusion of seemingly glowing from within by its own light.

At 3:17 am the Sun, Earth and Moon will be almost exactly in line and, assuming clear skies, the light of the Moon will appear at its dimmest. Totality ends at 3:53 am, and the Moon will completely emerge from the umbra and return to its full brilliance at 5:01 am. By then the Moon will have descended to a point about one-quarter up from above the west-northwest horizon.
- December 20-21: The Night of the Red Moon, Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History

In Observance of Irish Pride (St. Patrick's) Day

Updated 2011-03-17: Added links.

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Yesterday, with the first good weather of the year, I visited the Irish Hunger Memorial in downtown Manhattan, two blocks from Ground Zero. I've been there before. It definitely had a wintery, wind-swept feel to it this visit. This year, I want to visit it a couple times during the seasons.

Some of the surrounding buildings are new, even in the past few years, since my first visit. The juxtaposition of modern, even stark, architecture with rustic elements is striking.

Here are my photos from that visit.

Slideshow

Happy Imbolc (Groundhog Day) 2010

Update, 2010-02-02: Swing, and a miss. It's overcast this morning. The sun is up, and visible over the rooftops, but no shadows. Spring will arrive on time! (Oh, and my neighbor's Snowdrops are up, if not yet in bloom.)

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If the National Weather Service forecast for tomorrow morning is correct on this point, the sky will be clear for dawn in Flatbush. Flatbush Fluffy, the resident Marmota monax, will see his shadow, promising six more weeks of Winter.

Holiday Lights 2009

A slideshow of houses in my neighborhood.

Standing Still, Looking Ahead

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.


This season's Solstice (Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Summer in the Southern), occurs at 17:47pm UTC on December 21, 2008. That's 12:47 PM where I am, in the Eastern Time zone.

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

We got about 10" of snow over the weekend, and it's not going anywhere soon. So it's definitely wintery here. Here's another of my neighbors' illuminary displays.

It Begins

Update, 2009-12-26: Holiday Lights 2009

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The Wizard of Slocum Place does it again, with help from his next-door neighbor.



For best effect, view this photo on a black background.

I took this snapshot last night with my little Nikon P&S while walking home from dinner at Mimi's Hummus on Cortelyou Road with Blog Widow. Tonight's snow will create an ideal wintery photo-op.

Winter Storm Warning

Update 2009-03-02 08:00: Just back from shoveling a few hundred square feet of steps, walkway and sidewalk. Snow is 5" deep on the sidewalk, 6-6.5" deep on the ground, drifting higher. Snow is still falling, and predictions are for another 2-4" during the day on top of what we already have from last night.

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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the New York City tri-state area from 6pm tonight through 6pm Monday evening. A "major snowstorm" will drop 6 to 14 inches of snow, depending on location, with wind gusts up to 35 MPH.

The point forecast for Flatbush is projecting accumulations of over 13" and steady winds of over 25 MPH.

Alternate side parking rules are suspended city-wide to facilitate snow removal.

Update 2009-03-02: All NYC public schools are closed, the first time in five years.

Links

Snow Along the East Coast, NASA Earth Observatory, 2009-03-03

Hazards: Winter Weather, NYC OEM

Happy Imbolc (Groundhog Day) 2009!

The sun has not yet risen this morning, but the sky is clear as dawn lightens to day. It's likely that "Flatbush Fluffy", the resident Marmota monax, will see his shadow today, if only he would get out of bed.



It's a very different Imbolc than last year. Yesterday and today are the first days since December that I remember we had nighttime temperatures above freezing, which is a deep freeze for us. Last year was the first NYC January without snow in 75 years. This Winter we've been hit with multiple snow storms. I think we're up to five. Also unlike this time last year, there's been no sign of my Spring early warning system: snowdrops and crocuses. So I guess we really are in for a few more weeks of Winter.

Winter Wonderland

The south side of Albemarle Road looking east from Rugby Road around 10am this morning.


After shoveling and de-icing the steps and sidewalk this morning, I walked over to the landmarked Prospect Park South Historic District for the photo op. I'm glad I did. I was rewarded with these beautiful, snowy images.

I concentrated on Albemarle Road as part of my research into the history of its design and documentation of the current landscape for my Urban Garden Design class at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Somebody has to do it.

Looking toward the northwest corner of Albemarle and Rugby Roads


Albemarle Road, South side, looking west from Buckingham Road. Behind the chain link fence on the left lies the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden.

Details

The border of Prospect Park South is delineated by these brick posts surmounted with concrete planters. The street labels have been replaced at least once, having been weathered to near-illegibility from a century of exposure. The monogram is "PPS": Prospect Park South.


Some of Brooklyn's famous parrots were flocked high up in the top of this snowy American Elm tree on Albemarle Road. There are three parrots in this cropped image. If I were to produce an invasive species calendar, this would be a good image for it.


Oak Leaves


Holly, Flatbush Malls, Albemarle Road


Branches, Flatbush Malls, Albemarle Road


Lantern, 131 Buckingham Road, "The Japanese House"

Houses

1203 Albemarle Road


1305 Albemarle Road


1406 Albemarle Road / 135 Rugby Road, Prospect Park South, Flatbush, Brooklyn



1505 Albemarle Road


1510 Albemarle Road


143 Buckingham Road


131 Buckingham Road

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Flickr photo set

A very brief visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

BBG's Rock Garden this morning


This morning I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to attend the first 2009 meeting of the Brooklyn Community Gardeners Coalition. When I woke up this morning, it was 8F. It "warmed" up to 10F by the time I left the house. Wind chill was 0F. Hence the brevity of my visit.

I almost had the Garden to myself. Almost.


I wanted to try out the panorama assist feature of my new Nikon CoolPix S60. That worked well, I think. The ArcSoft Panorama Maker 4 software bundled with the camera won't start at all. I had to locate and run the separate registration software just to get the serial number so I could register for support. So far, no response from them. So no snowy panoramas of the Japanese Garden today. All these photos were shot with my trusty Nikon D70s.

Nevertheless, this was a photo opportunity. The subtle colors of winter were accentuated by the snow. We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow and Monday, and warmer temperatures. The Garden is open on Monday holidays, such as Martin Luther King Day, and weekday admission is free through the end of February. It will be a good time to visit.

The Rock Garden has got some of the best "bones" of all the BBG gardens. I think it's second only to the Japanese Garden in design.


Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea


The Witchhazels are almost, but not quite, ready to bloom. With warmer weather expected during the week, they should be beautiful next weekend.

Japanese Garden

This was the highlight of my visit.

Related Content

Flickr photo set
Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Links

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Stand Still / Dona Nobis Pacem

Illumination of Earth by Sun at the southern solstice.


It's the longest night and shortest day of the year for my half of the world. This season's Solstice (Winter in the Northern hemisphere, Summer in the Southern), occurred at 12:04pm UTC on December 21, 2008. That was 7:04 AM Eastern Time, my time zone, about six hours ago.

The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, its apparent movement north or south comes to a standstill.
- Solstice, Wikipedia

It feels like winter. It's cold outside, icy and frozen over the layer of snow we got on Friday. We will get a deep freeze tonight.

Later this week, I will see what's left of my family of origin for the first time since we flew back from North Carolina a little more than two weeks ago. It feels like it's been much longer than that. It will be a bittersweet reunion. We are incomplete for the first time, and for all the seasons to come.

The days start getting longer again, earlier sunrise, later dusk. It feels like more than a metaphor this year.

Lots of "it feels", which really means, "I'm feeling." Sometimes that's the work to be done. To stand still. And simply feel.



If, like me, you can't read music cold, this page has a little MIDI file which bangs out the tune so you can follow the score.

Related Posts

2007 December (Winter) Solstice

Links

Solstice (Wikipedia)

Happy Holidays

The MTA thwarted our plans to attend a concert of a women's choir this evening. So Blog Widow and I turned back and walked around our neighborhood, taking in the snow-beings and holiday lights.

Enjoy this slideshow of my Flickr set of photos from the evening. For best viewing, click the play button, then click the icon with four arrows in the lower-right to view it full-screen on a black background.

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Flickr set

Winter Storm Watch

A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for Brooklyn and the south shore of Long Island for tomorrow, with the possibility of 6 or more inches of snow:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON [New York] HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.

SNOW IS EXPECTED TO OVERSPREAD THE REGION FRIDAY MORNING...AND COULD BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE AFTERNOON. THE SNOW MAY MIX WITH SLEET AND RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 OR MORE INCHES.

Gardening by Satellite

Here in Brooklyn, at the end of last week and into the weekend, we got drenched with a couple days of rain. Fellow gardeners in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, I sympathize.

In this image, snow is red and orange, while liquid water is black. By the time this image was taken [On December 13], the top layer of ice was undoubtedly starting to melt, and the resulting watery ice ranges from dark red to black. The icy region extends over parts of Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire ... The normally green-blue tone of plant-covered land is nearly black throughout most of New Hampshire, the state most severely affected by the storm.
- New England Ice Storm, NASA Earth Observatory

If you've blogged about the ice storm in your area, give us a link!

Links

New England Ice Storm, NASA Earth Observatory

The following Garden Bloggers reported on the ice storm where they are.
Common Weeder, Heath, Massachusetts
Garden Path, Scarborough, Maine
The Vermont Gardener, Marshfield, Vermont