The longest night and shortest day of the year…and I reflect on what this year has brought into my life, and despite the obstacles we have all faced, I feel blessed. It has been challenging, at times, but not as difficult as other times in my life. I have friends and family that are close and far, but all dear and they help to carry the weight of these challenges with me. I am powered by the sun…my being…my household…my sleeping and waking patterns. Tomorrow the light is reborn. I celebrate this Yule time with you. Whatever one’s religion, we can all agree that the lengthening of the days that begins tomorrow is reason to celebrate. I wish for us all lengthening days and stability in our world. Blessed be.

Please, no lighted candles in the trees nor burning beseeching fires all night long, this year. It has been a way too long fire season.

Below, I repost one of my Winter Solstice posts from 2009:

“The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs. For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun’s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.” (Wikipedia)

There are as many different types of celebrations of this astrological event as there are cultures and religions, past and present. It is the “official” day of winter, here in the northern hemisphere, and it is when the days begin to lengthen again.

For me, rooted in a northern clime, the significance is both the beginning of winter, and the lengthening of the days. I am a person of the sun, who rises with it, and slows my rhythms when its time with me is also slowed. Long before we had a name to go along with these most natural of nature’s patterns (seasonal affective disorder), our bodies simply increased the secretion of melatonin in the body, causing longer sleep. Now, we know that special lights, plants, and negative ions can diminish the effect of the lesser sunlight.

It is a seasonal lull that many of nature’s plants and animals observe. It is a time for us to be focused inward rather than outward. Rather than fight the natural patterns, I choose to follow them, and become quiet, solitary, and introspective. Tomorrow, that time lessens, and my outward focus will begin its return, just as the sun increases its time in our northern skies.

Things that brought me joy this week

MoCo is serious about this current SIP order. Every single vehicle parked on the side of highway 1 from Ragged Point to Big Creek at least, was slapped with a red tag warning Friday. You can bet they are keeping track of the license numbers. Mostly, if not all, locals. I guess Jade hunting is out…

There has been law enforcement up Plaskett and Willow, too, stopping people to prove they live here.

Los Padres Forest Supervisor’s Office

relocates from Goleta to Solvang

SOLVANG, Calif.— Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) officials announced that they’ve recently completed moving the Supervisor’s Office from its longtime location in Goleta to a new leased facility at 1980 Old Mission Drive in Solvang at the corner of Alamo Pintado Road and California Highway 246. 

LPNF officials have been studying potential sites for a new Supervisor’s Office for more than 10 years. A decision was made in 2015 to narrow the focus to the Buellton-Santa Ynez corridor, and in 2016 the General Services Administration (GSA) advertised for interested lessors. The new location was selected in 2017 and construction on the existing building was completed this fall.

The telephone numbers for Supervisor’s Office employees have been transferred to the Solvang office and will remain the same.

Due to Covid-19, LPNF offices have been closed since March when employees began working remotely to provide virtual services to the public. The Supervisor’s Office will remain closed until it is safe to reopen the building to employees and the public.

As a reminder, developed campgrounds are closed under a Regional Order until January 6, 2021, to align with the State Stay-at-Home order which prohibits overnight camping. LPNF day use areas, along with OHV and hiking trails, remain open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to be familiar with and follow CDC guidance when using public lands. (Note: all three ridge roads on the South Coast are also closed and there is currently a USFS LEO patrolling.)

For additional information, please visit the Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/lpnf/home.

I had hoped for a bit more, as we are really behind in our rainfall for this season, but this will help stabilize the hillsides. I just got a new rain gauge yesterday, as my fancy dancy weather station needs to come down off the roof and have the batteries replaced. My old-fashioned one indicated .30” and is in line with what Chalk Peak weather station reported.

Per NOAA: “The next round of rainfall is knocking on our door….

The heaviest rainfall will arrive tonight with the cold front. Latest timing, which is slightly slower than yesterday, brings the heavier rainfall into the North Bay close to midnight and then spreading it south and east through the night and early Thursday. Steady rainfall will transition to showers behind the front from N to S on Thursday. One thing that has remained is the moisture content with the front. PWAT values are still forecast to be about 1-1.2". AR guidance also suggests the IVT values just under 500 kg/(ms). Rainfall amounts will be highest over the North Bay and coastal mountains 0.50-0.75"...interior valleys and Monterey Bay region about 0.25"...and interior Monterey/San Benito less than 0.25". Fortunately rainfall intensity does not appear to be higher enough to cause debris flow concerns with the burn areas,”

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Things that brought me joy this week.

And in other news…Lake Tahoe is closed to tourists starting Friday for at least three weeks.

MONTEREY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MARY L. ADAMS, SUPERVISOR – FIFTH DISTRICT

Greetings, Everyone~ Today, to preserve critical hospital bed capacity and to protect the health and safety of residents, the County of Monterey Health Officer announced that the County of Monterey will proactively implement the State Regional Stay At Home Order. This action was unanimously supported by the Board of Supervisors. The Order will take effect at 10 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, 2020and continue until 6 a.m. on Monday, January 11, 2021. The State Regional Stay At Home Order issued December 3, 2020 creates five regions in the state and requires additional restrictions if a region’s intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability drops below 15 percent. Monterey County is in the Bay Area Region, which has not yet reached the 15 percent threshold. However, local data indicate the healthcare system in our county is seeing a scarcity of both general acute bed and ICU bed capacity. In addition the ability of health care workers to attend to the sheer number of hospitalizations has suffered. While the state provides daily metrics of the ICU capacity in each region, the regional metrics do not adequately reflect the current situation at our local hospitals nor the strain on health care workers caring for our most critically ill patients. Information about what additional restrictions are in place for counties under the Regional Stay Home order is available on the California COVID-19 website https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/ I know it is challenging to have to again limit our social interactions. I can not thank you enough for the sacrifices you will make to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Monterey County. It is critical we take this step to release some of the pressure on our health care system so they can continue to provide care to our communities. Best,Mary. Mary L. Adams, SupervisorFifth District, County of Monterey

Good morningI found a big white dog on the highway last night about 9pm near coast galleryI have her with me at Pfeiffer park she is very big and sweet no tags

Marc (Lewis)

I have Marc’s phone number if this is your dog.

This is Polar. We are trying to get them reunited this afternoon, but it got complicated by a construction worker who gave the dog to his son who was on his way to No. Cal. I’ve given Derek Marc’s number as well as the number for the construction worker.