One can almost hear the Earth groaning and creaking as she starts to slow down as we enter the dark time of the year. The coming of the dark time is not a bad thing, for it is

all part of the cycle. We can rejoice, after all winter is the season for skiing, snowshoes, hot chocolate, cheerful giving, the time for awesome storms, and hopefully awesome photographs. Winter is also the season to sit by the fire reading a good book, pondering the future, quietly reflecting, or just trying warm your bones. It gives us a chance to spend special moments with our family and friends celebrating, remembering, or planning the new year. It’s the perfect time for old movies, working on crafts, blogging, or doing nothing more than watching a candle flame dance. As the Wheel of the Year turns, the nights become longer, and the skies are grayer, the sun sits lower in the sky, the temperatures plummet, and the wind that comes out of the north seems to have bit more bite ... the mountains, and the deserts are beginning to wind down for a time of much needed rest...Winter is coming.