solstice fire
Even when everything else is overwhelming it's nice to observe the turning points in the year, and none more so than the solstice. And even though we didn't manage to make wreaths this year, if there's one thing I can always handle, it's a fire.
starting the longest night
Actually, it took a little more thought than usual, since it's hard to light a fire when the ground is covered with a foot of snow. But I was prepared! The day before the storm I built a cover for our fire pit, and then the day after I shoveled it off so melting snow wouldn't drip in. That meant that this afternoon when the sun touched the horizon we had a dry bed to start what we grandly called our solstice bonfire (just slightly bigger than the fires we would use to cook on). It went up beautifully with just one match; that's a good omen for the year to come, I think.
Some friends came by to share our light in the darkness, and it was fine. The adults (and Harvey) talked, and the littler kids played in the snow (after toasting marshmallows, of course).
bonfires are for marshmallows
Happy solstice, everyone!