The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year. On December 21, the sun will rise at 7:55 a.m. and set at 4:20 p.m. resulting in 8 hours and 25 minutes of daylight (timeanddate.com).

The world’s largest fungus resides in the Blue Mountains in Oregon. The Armillaria ostoyae occupies 2,384 acres, about 1,665 football fields, and is estimated to be at least 2,400 years old (abcnews.go.com).

Honey mushroom, Armillaria ostoyae, is known as the largest living organism. Photo by Grzegorz “Spike” Rendchen.

To make one pound of honey, the bees in the colony must visit 2 million flowers and fly over 55,000 miles, the lifetime work of approximately 768 bees (beeright.com).

Goats have rectangular pupils (thedailybeast.com).

According to the Western Regional Climate Center, during December and January in Seattle we see an average of 23 grey days each month, more than most places in the country. However, average monthly rainfall is relatively low in Seattle – just 5” during December and January (averagerainfall.weatherdb.com).

Originally printed in Seattle Tilth’s newsletter, Way to Grow, December 2013 – January 2014.