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Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?

Standing on top of Viejas Mountain looking towards Cuyamaca Peak.
Standing on top of Viejas Mountain looking towards Cuyamaca Peak.

Hike Off Those Holiday Calories in San Diego County’s High Places and take advantage of December’s characteristically clear air. From spots such as Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Wooded Hill in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, and Boucher Hill at Palomar Mountain State Park, vistas stretching a hundred miles across the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon at this time of year. Look for the dark profiles of Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands, lying northwest and west of San Diego, respectively.

Poinsettias prefer bright, indirect sunlight – direct sunlight can scorch their delicate leaves.

Poinsettias, A Favorite of Backyard Gardeners, are now exhibiting their scarlet, petal-like bracts, just in time for the holidays. The onset of 14-hour-long nights triggers their behavior: in San Diego, this condition is met just before the winter solstice, at 1:20 am on Saturday, December 21. This event signals the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

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With Only About 10 Hours Of Daylight, San Diego must endure its darkest and gloomiest nights this week and next. During the day, the sun struggles to an altitude of only 34 degrees (as seen from San Diego), and then quickly sinks toward the horizon. The word “solstice” comes from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”); the sun’s path appears to freeze for a few days at the equinox before reversing its path. On the bright side, literally and figuratively, our days will start getting longer as the sun’s path rises higher in the sky each day. The process starts very slowly though: in December, our daylight increases by merely seconds per day. By March, we will see daily increases of 3 minutes.

A perfect winter's day in the hills near Julian. November 2014


But Is the Winter Solstice Really The Beginning Of Winter? It depends on whether you’re following a meteorological calendar or the astronomical calendar. Astronomical winter begins on December 21 and ends on March 20 at the Spring equinox, based on the position of the earth and the sun. Meteorological winter begins on December 1 and ends at the end of February, based on climate patterns. Our coldest average temperatures are the third week of January, a whole month after the sun begins its climb back up into the sky.

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Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Standing on top of Viejas Mountain looking towards Cuyamaca Peak.
Standing on top of Viejas Mountain looking towards Cuyamaca Peak.

Hike Off Those Holiday Calories in San Diego County’s High Places and take advantage of December’s characteristically clear air. From spots such as Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Wooded Hill in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, and Boucher Hill at Palomar Mountain State Park, vistas stretching a hundred miles across the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon at this time of year. Look for the dark profiles of Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands, lying northwest and west of San Diego, respectively.

Poinsettias prefer bright, indirect sunlight – direct sunlight can scorch their delicate leaves.

Poinsettias, A Favorite of Backyard Gardeners, are now exhibiting their scarlet, petal-like bracts, just in time for the holidays. The onset of 14-hour-long nights triggers their behavior: in San Diego, this condition is met just before the winter solstice, at 1:20 am on Saturday, December 21. This event signals the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sponsored
Sponsored

With Only About 10 Hours Of Daylight, San Diego must endure its darkest and gloomiest nights this week and next. During the day, the sun struggles to an altitude of only 34 degrees (as seen from San Diego), and then quickly sinks toward the horizon. The word “solstice” comes from the Latin sol (“sun”) and sistere (“to stand still”); the sun’s path appears to freeze for a few days at the equinox before reversing its path. On the bright side, literally and figuratively, our days will start getting longer as the sun’s path rises higher in the sky each day. The process starts very slowly though: in December, our daylight increases by merely seconds per day. By March, we will see daily increases of 3 minutes.

A perfect winter's day in the hills near Julian. November 2014


But Is the Winter Solstice Really The Beginning Of Winter? It depends on whether you’re following a meteorological calendar or the astronomical calendar. Astronomical winter begins on December 21 and ends on March 20 at the Spring equinox, based on the position of the earth and the sun. Meteorological winter begins on December 1 and ends at the end of February, based on climate patterns. Our coldest average temperatures are the third week of January, a whole month after the sun begins its climb back up into the sky.

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Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
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