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| Hibiscus sp. | 
Those of us  who are avid gardeners and living in the Northern Hemisphere can't wait for the 
winter solstice,  the shortest day of the year. Then the days will begin to lengthen and  we can look forward to the gardening season once again. Whoo-hoo!  This  year the solstice occurs on December 22nd, and to celebrate I'm posting a  photo-a-day countdown with some of my favorite photographs of 2011.   Enjoy!