Shorter Days And The Big Dipper

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The days keep getting shorter. On the other hand, shorter days mean the nights are getting longer. And that gives the madman more time to look up at the night sky.

Photograph of the Big Dipper. — *The Big Dipper in winter. “Big Dipper” by paulebertt is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.*

From our backyard, it’s easy to see Polaris. Polaris, also known as the North Star, is the only star that doesn’t move in our sky. It is always above the North Celestial Pole, and right next to the Elm tree in our back. All the other stars in the sky move in a circle around it.

The Big Dipper Is Missing

That explains why the Big Dipper is missing from our sky. This time of year, its circular path takes it very close to the northern horizon where it blocked by trees in our yard. In some latitudes, it actually dips below the horizon.

Evening shot of the trees that block the Big Dipper. — *Thanks to our Latitude and the trees in the back, the Big Dipper is missing from our night sky in winter.*

Actually, the Big Dipper, a well-known group of stars, is not a constellation. It is an asterism, a recognizable pattern in the sky. We call this pattern of stars the Big Dipper. The Canadians agree with us. But the English see it as a plow. Farther east in Europe, it’s the wagon. It is known in other cultures by a variety of other names. But the madman’s favorite comes from Native American legends where it’s known as the Great Bear.

A Great Bear

According to the madman’s favorite legend, a large bear showed up one cool fall day. He began to eat the animals of the forest, leaving none for the people to store for winter. Facing starvation, tribal elders said the bear must be killed. Many hunting parties set out to kill the bear. Three brave hunters chased the bear to the end of the world and into the sky where they finally killed it. As the bear’s blood falls to earth, it turns the tree leaves red, giving us the beautiful fall colors. The people imagined the bowl to be the body of the bear, and the three hunters were the handle.

a large bear lying on the ground — *The madman says this is not the great bear in the sky, but it threatens our birdfeed.*

In the fall when the Big Dipper is on the horizon, it is said that’s the bear lying dead on the ground. During the winter, his spirit enters the body of a new bear which will appear in the spring. And the hunt begins again. The madman finds it interesting that the killing of the bear coincides with the beginning of the Persephone Period.

Autumn colors on the tree leaves. — *According to one Native American legend, the red on the trees comes from the blood of the great bear in the sky.*

Shorter Days

Today we have only 9 hours 21 minutes of daylight as we march towards the Solstice on December 21. Our shortest day will be 9 hours 8 minutes. But we won’t have 10 hours of sunlight again until the end of the Persephone Period on February 1. Look to the northeast on that evening: the bear will be rising.

Before the advent of calendars, and even today, this group of stars has marked the passing of time. When it’s time to plant the madman’s peas, the dipper is standing on its handle. When the dipper is overhead, it’s time to plant summer crops. And, when the bowl is facing down, it’s time to get the last of the beets and carrots out of the ground. If you let the bear guide you, the earth is sleeping now.

After being killed by frost, the seeds on the dead plants are ready to feed the birds. — *Thanks to the changing seasons, the gardens are now asleep.*

Still Gardening

But, despite the shorter days, we have more to do in the garden. The summer bulbs are finally out of the ground – the last ones are drying on racks in the étalier. The glads, callas, cannas and dahlias will be tucked away in cool dark corners for the winter.

madman pushing a wheelbarrow full of flower bulbs. — *The madman carrying in a load of Canna Lily bulbs for storage during the shorter days of winter.*

Native Plants

We’ve had a hard frost and cooler temperatures have finally arrived. So, I’ve started to plant seeds for next spring. Mostly, I’m planting seeds of native plants. The madman says that the best time to plant these seeds is when the native plants are dropping their own seeds. A majority of these seeds need to go through a period of cold temperatures before they germinate. We can replicate this natural process by putting seeds in a damp growing medium in the refrigerator for the required time, usually 30-60 days. But the problem with this method is that the madman tends to forget about them. So, planting outside it is, and I really have all winter to get them in. Lucky for me digging out our summer bulbs left behind lots of soft fluffy soil for planting.

Flowers

In addition to the native plants, I’ll also plant a few flowers that self-sow easily. I won’t do a lot of these because we don’t always have great luck with this method. Probably because we get too anxious to dig in the garden come spring and we disturb the soil.

Sherry planting seeds into small square pots. — *When the pots are planted with seeds, we’ll move the pots outside under a cover of hardware cloth.*

Labels

This year we are also going to try planting seed in pots outside. I got the idea from Select Seeds in Union, CT. With this method, I’ll fill a bunch of pots with loose potting medium. When the seeds are planted, I’ll place them outside near a door (easy access if it doesn’t rain and I have to water). I’ll then put a length of hardware cloth over the pots to protect them from prying paws and hungry beaks. Again, no rush on these pots as long as I get them out by the first of the year.

Seed tag with date and type of flower planted. — *Thanks to last year’s Christmas gift, I have sturdy wooden tags to mark the seeds I plant in the garden.*

I have to make sure that everything I plant is well labeled. And, by well labeled, I mean the tags cannot fade over the winter. Last year, the madman gave me a wonderful Christmas gift – wooden labels with enough space to mark and date. Permanent marker always fades, so I’ll use a good old fashioned pencil.

I’m not the only one starting seed for next year’s garden. The madman planted Pansy seeds a while ago and he has little seedlings in the basement. With his banks of grow lights, the madman says there’s no such thing as a Persephone Period in the basement.