Low winter sun casts slanted light, a specific hue that's at once happy and sad'highly fitting for this time of year. Nearly every city-dweller I know clings to the fleeting moments of gratifying glow during the final dark days of the calendar. This year, the winter solstice will arrive at 4:20 a.m. ET on Saturday, December 21. Because of the tilt of the Earth's axis, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will find ourselves tipped away from the sun. A day later, we'll begin inching back toward it. Whereas the summer solstice is built for revelry'short sleeves, sizzling barbecues, the thunk of an icy cooler'the winter solstice is a quieter, more reflective time. Maybe you have no plans to mark the solstice beyond staying inside and letting the short day skate by (understandable). But for anyone inclined to venture outside, the solstice is a pristine time for the simple act of noticing. In 1894, the poet Edith M. Thomas published an essay in The Atlantic titled 'From Winter Solstice...
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