For those of us living north of the equator, Saturday was the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year.

I didn’t do anything in particular to celebrate, but I do always look forward to the winter solstice because once it’s behind us, the days start getting longer. We will get just a touch more sunlight every single day until the summer solstice (June 20th), when, alas, the days will begin to get shorter again.

I prefer the long days and short nights of summer because more daylight hours mean more birding hours. But I realize my tastes may not be universal.

How about you? Do you like the short days and long nights of winter? Or do you, like me, prefer the long days and short nights of summer?

XOXO,
Bernice

PS: I want to share three links with you today that will explain the why of the winter solstice. The first is from PBS Kids’ Nature Cat. The second is from the Register-Guard newspaper’s YouTube channel and features the director of the Eugene Science Center Planetarium, who does a wonderful job of explaining the winter solstice. The third is from BBC News and covers the same topic. All three videos are under three minutes long. Enjoy!