Happy Solstice!

As we were out of town visiting family last weekend and didn't get back home till late in the evening, we waited to celebrate Solstice till tonight.  The kids and I spent the morning making some special treats for our local wild birds:

 

Winter time is actually one of my favorite times to bird watch.  There's something so loyal about the black capped chickadees, blue jays, and tufted titmouses that show up every day despite how nasty the weather is.  Lately we've had a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers come to visit as well.  Hopefully they'll all enjoy their Solstice "feast" of popcorn, cranberries, and oranges:

 

Our human Solstice feast consisted of Solstice Soup full of yummy veggies.  You can find the recipe here.  I love the pretty orange-yellow color of it:

   

We (meaning mostly me while Short Pants threw flour 'round the kitchen) also made some homemade rolls to go with it.  Of course, the kids' favorite part of the feast was the sun cake:

  

And yes, that is a lot of sprinkles.   

Before dinner we sat in the darkness for just a moment, and then slowly lit each candle on our holder while giving thanks for different things in our lives.  Candle #1 was the fact that our human needs of shelter, warmth, and food are met each day.  Candle #2 was lit in gratitude of our good health.  Candle #3 was in appreciation of the natural world, and Candle #4 symbolized our gratefulness for each other.  Candle #5, of course, was in appreciation and celebration of the return of the light.  The whole thing was short and sweet, but very lovely:

 

Our original plan had been to have a bonfire out in the yard after dinner, but it's been bitterly cold, and Pita Pocket has a runny nose and I have a sore throat.  Instead The Mister and I relaxed with coffee by candlelight while the 3 big kids ran around playing hide and seek and generally raising a ruckus.  We'll save the bonfire idea for Summer Solstice. 

I almost forgot - I also switched over to our winter nature tray today:

 

I hope each one of you had a Solstice as sweet as ours!

Comments

[Jenna]

found your blog from the mothering forums. Great stuff on here. Where did you get those pj's for your older son, I am looking for something like that for my son.

-Jenna

[One hook wonder]

Thanks Jenna! I think I got them at Target last year, which reminds me - I need to look for some more. ;)

[Jenna]

Wonderful! I will have to make a trip there soon. My 13 and 9 y/o have been begging for some. I need to look for pictures to see how they fit. Oh an we tried the suncatcher idea outside today :)

-Jenna