Autumn fades and Winter has arrived. Today is December 21, 2014 and it is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Interesting facts about this day are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/winter_solstice_2014_when_is_t.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/12/21/winter-begins-today-five-questions-and-answers-about-the-solstice/

Twisp River in the Methow Valley

“A full moon hangs high in the chilly sky,

All say it’s the same everywhere, round and bright.

But how can one be sure thousands of li away

Wind and perhaps rain may not be marring the night?”

-Li Qiao, The Mid-Autumn Moon