The winter solstice was yesterday morning, and since I put in the fire pit in 2018 I've liked celebrating the occasion with a fire, when possible. Temperatures never got above freezing yesterday, they stayed just a bit below, so it was definitely chilly but very manageable.
I shoveled some snow out of the fire pit and considered melting more with the garden torch but there were sticks in the pit already so I felt I had a good enough base to build the fire. I didn't want to be out there long and it would get colder after the sun went down so I got started around 3:30 in the afternoon, about an hour before sunset. I built the small fire up right away, then basically just let it burn down until I could go inside. I think it's pretty safe to say this will be the last fire pit of the year, but, of course, now that I said that...
I made a couple discoveries while I was out there. First, I realized that I left the gnome outside under the lilac. I didn't take him into the garage for winter like I usually do when doing the fall cleanup, but I still may sometime. We've had him for quite some time now and he's starting to look a bit faded and rough. I always have my eye out for garden gnomes but haven't found one to replace him yet. I have a smaller one that's been living on the porch all year that I may put out come spring.
The next discovery was bat guano under the bat house. I don't know exactly how long it's been there, but it's a bit too cold for the bats to be out and about this month so I'm guessing since October, or maybe early November. Hopefully they found a warmer place to hibernate, but not my attic!
Saturday started a run of 10 out of 16 days off for me. We do have some holiday obligations, but I welcome the time off. Next post will be holiday wishes, so I may get that written up and scheduled soon so I don't forget. Happy solstice, everyone.
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