Cosy nights and the winter solstice

The nights now are frosty and very dark, the temperatures often hovering around -2 or -3°C.

Daylight fades by about 3.30pm here now that we’re so close to the winter solstice. Soon the wheel will turn again and the light will begin to return.

At about 4pm we light the woodburner and a few of the candles. Neither are strictly necessary, but for me it’s part of wintering – banishing the dark with real flames in a way that no artificial light can.

And for the solstice, firelight and a bit of natural greenery to mark the power of nature and the return of the light is absolutely needed.

The house becomes a different thing after dark. Smaller, cosier, more embracing without those wide vistas over the Sound and the winter sunlight streaming in through the big windows.

We coorie-in, and as we listen to the rain and wind lashing the croft outside we’re glad of the home we’ve built.