Winter Solstice

Above, Barking Spider Road in snow. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since we've been having cold temperatures and snow on occasion, it is a tad anticlimactic that today is the first day of winter or winter solstice. The first snow we received was in late October.

It seems we never had an autumn with more comfortable temperatures. The trees outside had nice fall colors, until heavy winds blew through and left them all bare. The leaves were gone in an instant. A few weeks ago, I kidded my neighbors that Jamestown has three seasons like L.A.: winter, spring and summer like L.A. Only L.A.'s seasons are autumn, summer and spring.

The locals were pleased about the monsoon rains of summer and the early snows. There's been a drought in New Mexico for at least a couple of years. We can use the water. I enjoyed the lightning shows we had during the monsoon season.

Perhaps spring will arrive before we know it on March 20, 2019.