Today is the darkest day of the year, so Maria and I decided a couple of years ago to strong the farmhouse with colorful lights to mark the Winter Solstice and brighten the first days and weeks of winter.

Maria moves like a monkey, she climbs all over the front and back porch stringing the lights, our house sits on a dark road, we hope the farm will be a beacon and comfort to people driving by and to us as well.

The lights usually stay up until the days get longer and brighter. In an hour or so, we’ll go outside to light the Winter Solstice Bonfire, a celebration of the new beginning. We can only imagine what this holiday meant to people a couple of hundred years ago, and longer.