Transmitting from the Mojave Wilderness in Joshua Tree, California, now is the time for Desert Oracle Radio, the voice of the desert.

Night has fallen on the desert.

If you are within radio range of Joshua Tree tonight, you know this is the cold time of year.

Coming up on the shortest day of the year, winter solstice.

If you want to be outside to mark the moment, which I try to do every year,

because it's a little more satisfying than just seeing the calendar notification on your phone.

Solstice 20 and 22 in the Village of Joshua Tree will be on Wednesday, December 21, at 148 p.m. local time,

Pacific Standard Time.

Sundown is already coming a little bit later,

which is helpful for those of us who take our walks in the afternoon.

But sundown is still plenty early.

4.39 p.m. is solstice sunset.

But you know how tricky this becomes in the mountains.

The San Bernardino Mountains and their local siblings,

while they weren't being especially poetic when they came up with the name the little San Bernardino Mountains

well these mountains form the irregular horizon to our west and that is going to affect your sunset

and you feel it to affect your sunset.

And you feel it to 100 feet in this direction or a thousand feet in that direction.

And your sundown might be at 4.10 p.m. instead.

And then you are thinking, well, maybe I should have brought my gloves,

because my hands are getting sort of numb,

especially in this bitterly cold wind.

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