Happy solstice

Happy shortest day everyone! I always like the solstices and equinoxes - there is something about the unchanging rotation of the earth around the sun that makes my problems seem very small. This is probably because my problems ARE very small (why did I buy hipster undies? how did that stain get on the carpet? I'm sure I just bought two kilos of that and now it's gone) but a bit of galactic perspective helps as well. I am reading "2312" by Kim Stanley Robinson which has humankind spread out into the solar system, terraforming the planets and living in hollowed out asteroids. It is an excellent read and I love the science of space elevators and gravity through rotational spin and solar screening. It provides a nice counterbalance to the current world where the USA seems to be determined to turn itself into a third world country as soon as possible and even the Brits have gone a bit bonkers. I might have to impose a news blackout for a while.

In the meantime, here is a much more soothing scene. I went down the beach for the weekend on my own, and to check that our house hasn't been washed away in all this rain.



The house is fine, but the beach has changed shape. There is quite a bit of erosion in the dunes, and some gutters that weren't there before. It will no doubt silt back but this the first time I've seen such a change in the years we've been going down there. We had a huge amount of rain, a king tide, and massive seas. It doesn't look very inviting and I was not tempted to swim! Lots of sewing, trash tv and reading books.



This is the creek at low tide - the water is absolutely copper coloured. It goes that colour after rain because of the water coming down through the trees. It's quite stunning - if you pick up a handful it's a golden colour. Actually it looks a bit like pee if the sun's not on it, which isn't very attractive, but I try not to think like that.