{"id":47094,"date":"2023-12-28T15:28:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T15:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelandmark.com\/?p=47094"},"modified":"2023-12-28T15:28:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T15:28:22","slug":"the-shortest-darkest-day-is-behind-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/2023\/12\/28\/the-shortest-darkest-day-is-behind-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The shortest, darkest day is behind us"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Ted Purcell<\/em>
\nCommunity Correspondent<\/em><\/div>\n

December is the Winter Solstice month. In my science classroom, when I was teaching, we often kept track of the length of day (the time the sun is out during the day), and I would celebrate with them equinoxes and solstices. Dec. 21 is the Winter Solstice, our shortest day of sunlight, with 9 hours and 4 minutes between sunrise and sunset. The sun angle also is low above the horizon, and as I have heard a Boston TV meteorologist say, \u201cThe sun is not much stronger than a flashlight.\u201d Of course this is a metaphor and an exaggeration, but his point is that our sun is weak this time of year and not out for very long. The result is colder temperatures and for some \u201cseasonal affective disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

In our area, the earliest sunset is Dec. 15 at 4:15 p.m. The good news (for me, anyway), is that by Dec. 31, sunsets are back to 4:24. Dec. 21 may be the shortest day of the year, but by New Year\u2019s Eve we gain back 3 minutes.<\/p>\n

Crosby, Stills and Nash borrowed a centuries old quote: \u201cThe darkest hour is always just before the dawn.\u201d Try and imagine thousands of years ago, before we had formal science and humans lived as hunters and gatherers, \u201ceeking\u201d out survival based purely on nature’s bounty. The sun gets dimmer and dimmer, but then by late December the sun is getting stronger, not by much, but measurable. What do you do? Celebrate! Many historians site \u201cYule\u201d as the precursor to modern-day Christmas, as a celebration of the days getting longer.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Winter berry is a bright spot in winter, providing food for many birds. Photo Credit: Ted Purcell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I suppose, if we have to have such long nights, we might as well have good sights in the sky. One of our winter constellations is Orion\u2019s belt. Aside from the Big Dipper (also visible in Winter), Orion\u2019s Belt of three stars in a row is one of the more recognizable constellations. Cool, dry winter air makes for better night viewing, as there is little interference from moisture droplets and clouds.<\/p>\n

The leaves are gone from most all our deciduous trees, but for a few oak trees (especially white oaks) and Beech trees. Why do a few of these trees hold their pale, almost ghostly looking leaves longer, when most have fallen onto our lawns? Scientists are not sure, but have given it a special name, marcescence. Reasons hypothesized as to why range from they protect next Spring\u2019s buds, to help trap snow as a blanket for their roots, to delaying the decomposition of the leaves and return of nutrients to the soil. Whatever the reason, they add unique color to the winter woods and make one wonder.<\/p>\n

Now that I have retired, I have had time to try some new experiences. One I never really anticipated was hunting, specifically deer hunting. A year or so ago some friends and our son started encouraging me to try deer hunting. In Massachusetts there is a special deer hunt for wheelchair users in early November. This required a bit of homework on my part. First I needed to complete a hunter safety course. I did this in September through the state Fish and Wildlife organization. It was very informative not only with regard to hunting itself, but provided info on the environment, water safety and general outdoor safety. Second, I then needed to decide how I would hunt, meaning choice of a weapon. I opted for a crossbow. On Nov. 2 and 4, I hunted one day with fellow Rutlandite Scot Wiinikka and one day with our son Tanner. I shot a small doe in the southern portion of the Quabbin. We have had some delicious meals of venison, and according to the state biologist, I (we as there were several of us) helped the ecosystem by controlling the deer population which have been over-grazing that area for years. It was an interesting (and good) experience, not necessarily \u201cfun\u201d as many folks have asked me, but one I will not soon forget, and may try to repeat next year.<\/p>\n

Bird feeders have gone back up on our deck. Bears should be headed into hibernation and the birds are hungry. Chickadees, tufted titmice, nuthatches, cardinals and several woodpecker species have been visiting. This winter look for pine siskins, a small striped cousin of goldfinches, that have come south from northern pine forests.<\/p>\n

Featured Flora and Fauna<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mute swans and winter berry \u2026 candy cane colors!<\/p>\n

Mute swans<\/strong> may be one of the purest white colors in nature, at least around here. A buddy called me the other day to say he had seen two in Eagle Lake. I went there and saw six. They are regulars in Chaffins Pond, Maple Spring Pond and Eagle Lake in Holden, Wachusett Reservoir and Thayer Pond in Rutland. Their numbers have been increasing in the last decade, and I am sure they are in numerous other area ponds and lakes.<\/p>\n

Mute swans are not a native species to the Americas. European settlers brought them here. They are native to Europe and often pictured as regal in castle moats and parks in London and other large European cities. Scientists here are mixed on their becoming part of our ecosystems. When originally introduced, they stayed mostly near the coast in Connecticut and New York. They have a reputation as being \u201caggressive,\u201d and are what ecologists call invasive, meaning they out-compete natural organisms in their new habitat. My mother loves to tell a story of how I got \u201chonked\u201d on the finger by one when I was 3 years old in Stonington, Connecticut. Yes, I was chasing it. They do push Canada geese and ducks out of ponds where they nest. In fact, the Worcester County Memorial Cemetery park on Route 56 in Paxton is using mute swan decoys to try and discourage the geese there. They do not appear to be much more successful than the coyote decoys.<\/p>\n

Love them or hate them, mute swans appear to be here to stay, and they sure do make for great viewing in local ponds.<\/p>\n

As you drive around the area, especially near swampy wet areas, you may see clumps of bright red berries on shrubs that are 5-10 feet tall. This is winter berry<\/strong>, also called Ilex or wild holly. It is a member of the holly plant family, but unlike the holiday decorating holly, winterberry is deciduous, meaning it drops its leaves, which makes its berries stand out.<\/p>\n

It is a great winter food source for robins, bluebirds and cedar waxwings. These three bird species eat primarily insects and earthworms in warmer months, but feed primarily on fruits (berries) in the winter around here. We have a few bushes of them in the corner of our yard, and annually the robins descend on them and polish them off in a week or so. Often I have used them in outdoor holiday decorations, and regularly see people roadside cutting them. I have even had robins and bluebirds right outside my front door on cold mornings in December and January eating my decorations. I am happy to share in exchange for an up-close view of those colorful birds. Winter berry even made a U.S. postage stamp a few years back as part of their plant series. Whenever I cut some, I never cut them all, feeling I should leave some for future crops.<\/p>\n

As December nears its close, we are wrapping up Christmas Bird Count month. CBCs are the National Audubon Society\u2019s nationwide effort, now over a century old. Using a set protocol \u2014 circles that are 15 miles in diameter \u2014 birders identify the number of species and count the number of birds of each species they see. There is now a set of data that is 122 years old and allows scientists to monitor bird populations and see how they are impacted by environmental changes. Parts of the Wachusett region are included in the Worcester (parts of Holden, Sterling and Paxton and a sliver of Rutland) CBC and the Westminster (slivers of Rutland and Sterling and much of Princeton). Visit the National Audubon Society webpage and look them up. The area leader is listed and often interested in bird counts for yards and feeders.<\/p>\n

Last year there was very little ice fishing to be done, as most local ponds never had consistently thick ice. The only time I ice fished was with our son during Christmas week in a shallow pond on our street. He got out another time or two and got some yellow perch, which are delicious in winter when the water is cold. As our winters have gotten warmer, opportunities to ice fish have decreased. If you like to ice fish, or pond skate or even snowmobile on ice, please be careful and check that the ice has been deemed \u201csafe\u201d by someone in the know, such as your local fire department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ted Purcell Community Correspondent December is the Winter Solstice month. In my science classroom, when I was teaching, we often kept track of the length of day (the time the sun is out during the day), and I would celebrate with them equinoxes and solstices. Dec. 21 is the Winter Solstice, our shortest day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devcherryroad.com\/news2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}