When earth is newly clad in snow
And wonder’s dusted off the mantel of the commonplace
And left it round and soft,
When earth and sky both share a glow
When all is light aloft, alow,
My heart just wants to romp and laugh
When all the worlds become one path.
No need to probe with crook or staff
When all the worlds become one path.

Robert Paschell

EPHEMERIS FOR THE TURN TO SUMMER
    The Crow Gathering moon enters its final phase on the 19th at 5:29 a.m. Rising just after midnight and setting in the afternoon, the waning fourth-quarter  moon moves overhead just before dawn, becoming totally dark just as longest nights of the year begin to shorten, turning into the new Bedding Plant Moon at 7:23 a.m. on December 27.  Rising in the morning and setting as a thin crescent after dark, the new moon is overhead in the middle of the day.
    On December 2, the sun along the 40th Parallel reached its earliest setting of the year and continued to set at the same time for twelve days. Then, starting on the 14th of the month, sunset began to occur a minute later every three days. This small advance was offset by the sun rising later in the morning, and the point-counterpoint of time lost and gained created a week-long standoff during which the day's length remained at its shortest of the year, about 9 hours and 20 minutes.
    Winter solstice occurs at 4:12 p.m. on December 21, and on December 24, the sun begins its movement to summer solstice, rising just slightly from a declination of 23 degrees, 26 minutes to 23 degrees, 25 minutes. On Christmas, it moves another minute. On the 26th it rises a full two minutes (there are 60 minutes in a degree), and then its ascent takes on greater and greater momentum, changing more than five minutes in a day by January 1, about ten minutes in a day by January 15, up to 20 minutes a day by February 1. These are “degree” minutes, however, which measure the sun’s height in the sky, not “time” minutes that would measure the day’s length.
    Nevertheless, the minutes of time quickly follow the minutes of degree. On December 26, the length of the day grows by 60 seconds for the first time since June 26. From that point forward, the night retreats at the rate of a minute every three days. But sunrise keeps taking place slightly later up until New Year's Eve, when dawn stalls at 7:57 for 12 days. Finally, on January 11, mornings start to lengthen; night unravels as daylight hastens its advance to between 60 and 120 seconds every 24 hours. The reversal of the sun's course and the dark December vigil for its turn toward summer are complete.