Organic Mutant

Sunshine. I, like plants, love sun — not too much, not too little. After living in this house for over 5 years, the seasons and their effect on the amount and quality of sunlight in this house are burned into my mind. Right now, as we ride the diminishing sunlight until the solstice, there is less and less sunlight in my kitchen. A few weeks ago I could count on sunlight on my counters at 8:15 and stand in the sun and drink my first cup of tea, but now as we move into the decline of our annual trip around the sun and the sun is lower and lower in the horizon, the sun trickles lazily in at 9ish and stays shorter, which makes me glum. I need sun. I think that is why I like camping in the desert in the winter: lots of direct sunlight as there is no where to hide from the sun except under your hat. I depend on the sun.

When Lucas was newly born, we spent a lot of time getting to know one another in the bedroom that faces east. I remember sun-filled hours, nursing, reading, sleeping, sewing, talking, singing, holding, cuddling, but as the year subsided the amount of sun we got lessened and we crept over to the south side of the house for our daily dose of indoor sunning. Now we are in those 8 weeks on either side of that event and it’s cold and will be colder. We will keep warm with fleece vests, fur-lined slippers (drat, you cold floors), and extra blankets. I will go dormant for a few weeks, waiting for the sun to come back into my life.

Once a long time ago I had a dream about the constellation Orion. To this day it’s one of my favourite nighttime sights. In fact, I feel lonely when I look into the sky during the time of year when Orion is below the horizon. It is one of my consolations during this time of year.