In the northern hemisphere, today is the shortest day of the year. It’s solstice! And I couldn’t be happier. Because that means that tomorrow the days will become longer. Finally!
Honey doesn’t know much about astronomy. But she’s happy too. Siriusly! Because longer days bring more hours of doggy fun.
Here are just a few of the longer day joys we’re looking forward to:
♥ The return of outdoor, dog-friendly dining
♥ Quick poop scooping without feeling around for warm spots in the dark
♥ Occasionally being able to capture puppy fun without using a flash
♥ More shedding (really, it hides the dirt on the floors)
♥ Waking up to the sun without sleeping until noon
And to our friends in the southern hemisphere who are enjoying these things already? Thanks for sending the sun back.
Your Turn: Does solstice have any meaning for you? Does your dog care if it’s dark or light outside for most of the day?
I prefer the sun so bring it on. Great picture.
Bogie takes us for walks twice a day, and he does NOT like to walk in the dark. We’re not crazy about taking him out in the dark, either, because there are javalinas and coyotes around. Even though we’re in Arizona and just naturally have longer days, I’ll be glad not to have to time cooking supper around walk time in the evening, and Ken will be glad not to have to wait around til the last minute before he has to go to work in the morning.
I thought I was the only one who got excited about the winter solstice. For me, it always feels like we finally turned the corner, the days will start to get longer instead of shorter, and Spring is actually on the way!
We love this time of year. If it would stay light out until about 8pm and get light out at 6pm, that would be ideal, but we love shorter days, cold and snow and look forward to a couple more months of it…we are weird but at least we live in the right place for what we enjoy! Winter is our favorite season and it officially starts in about an hour.
I love the snow and cold but not the loss of light, so am happy Solstice has arrived.
My dogs don’t particularly care, but I do. I am not home from work most days till 5 at the earliest (some days its 7), and when its dark at 530 it is hard to walk the dogs.
Feeling for warm spots-hahahaha!!!
Feeling for warm spots? Ewwww. 🙂
Love the picture!
YES! We’ve been counting down until the days start to grow longer. They get a lot more outside time… as do we! The solstice is always the mental turning point for me, away from winter and toward spring! Although, now that I’m typing all that, it’s occurring to me that it’s way different this year. For instance, today. It’s 78 degrees outside. Perhaps the solstice will feel very different being here? The turning point toward the oppressive heat? Hmm.
“More shedding to cover the dirt.” I like the way you think. Happy Winter Solstice!
She’s just beaming 😉 Happy winter solstice!!
I’m sure I was a bear in my past lives and got to hibernate through the cold and dark days. We do a happy dance to celebrate the Winter Solstice every year.
I remember really well the first winter I spent in Massachusetts–I was suddenly struck by “Oh, THAT’S why the Solstice is a big deal.” Now that we’re much further south it’s less of an issue.
The solstice just means no more short days. I hate that I can’t walk our dogs as much as I like. We’re lucky to have the land that we have so that we can play fetch at night, but it’s not good enough for me so I’m going to enjoy watching the light last longer.
We look forward to the longer days too! Unfortunately when it’s dark in the evenings, walks are primarily for bathroom breaks and most playing has to been done inside. But when it’s bright and sunny out… we all get to enjoy ourselves a little more. Spring can’t come quickly enough!
I just feel better knowing there will be more light every day. I’m not sure if the dogs really notice it or not, but they’re glad for more time to have fun together!
YAY!!!!! Been so busy, didn’t think about it- though I’d seen it on the calendar and was looking forward to it- LOVE the days getting longer, more light the better. Also, to me, it means we’re getting closer to the warmer days!!
I don’t mind either way, but mummy prefers the lighter mornings
I am so excited about summer coming – I miss summer evening dog walks!