Come walk with me in the peak Autumn beauty of the Northwoods. To say that I love this time of year is an understatement. Most everyone can appreciate the colorful falling leaves---it reveals the 'true self' of a tree when its leaves are no longer producing chlorophyll. Their true colors are revealed, and there is something simple … [Read More...]
Begin Spring
Tomorrow is the first day of Spring. Ready or not, here it comes! It seems like we are nowhere close to Spring this weekend as we continue to ‘clean up’ after yet another snowstorm. The roads are icy, the temps are unseasonably cold, the wind chill is downright Decemberish, and there is a lot of snow on the ground in the middle of the yard!
But just like so many things in life, Spring is a process that has a beginning, a middle, and an end—just like a story. So tomorrow we begin Spring. The groundhog did the countdown, and we, as excited children, waited in anticipation for the moment Spring would find us. So what does beginning Spring look like in central Minnesota? There is a change in the position of the rising and setting of the moon and sun—the moon on a monthly basis yet always in a celestial dance with the yearly movement of the sun. The sun is rising and setting ‘nearly’ east and west in its trek toward the Summer Solstice when long hours of daylight in the North of the Northern Hemisphere will shorten our nights.
There are days of melting and days of snowing—a ping pong game of subtraction and addition. But with the beginning of Spring, snow subtraction begins to pull ahead for the win.
Even with a new blanket of a windblown five inches of snow, the sun, from its higher position in the sky, is a steady source of warming power. Even with below freezing temperatures, the sunshine is softening the snow, compacting it with more moisture, and melting it along the edges.
The beginning of Spring, despite the snow, has us looking forward to warmer days when gardens can be planted and canoes can be retrieved from the drifts and winter slumber to glide once again on the ice-free lakes and rivers.
It doesn’t look like Spring, but whether we are ready or not, it has found us!
The beginning of Spring is more subtle than our weary minds and bodies would like it to be. But nonetheless, it arrives. It carries with it the promise and hope for the middle of Spring when the snow is gone, the grass is green, flowers are growing and blooming, and birds and animals are nesting and creating. Then the story of the seasons and us comes to the end of the chapter of Spring and to the beginning of Summer, and so on and so on. It is a sweet dance, like a flowing river, with a rhythm and cadence sung by Mother Nature— ♪ “Here I come.” ♪
New Year’s Day—Not in Texas Anymore
As I awoke on this New Year’s Day, it was very apparent that we weren’t in Texas anymore! The temperature was six degrees below zero, and snow, beautiful snow, covered the ground with a nice, thick blanket! We had been gone for seventeen days visiting family and friends in Kansas City and Austin. Seventeen days of real social time—no digital social media needed or wanted. You know, just like the ‘old days.’
In the upcoming weeks, I will write about some of our outdoor adventures in the warmth of Kansas and Texas—so many amazing things to see, even in winter! Until then, I want to wish you beautiful mornings and beginnings…
…abundance in all areas of your lives…
…and time with friends and loved ones around the campfire, around the dinner table, and out in Nature! Happy New Year!
Staying Warm
It’s a cold week in Minnesota–single digits and teens with below zero wind chills. When I go outside, I put boots on over Smart Wool socks, pull my fleece neck gaiter over my head, put on a wool stocking cap with one of those ear muff things over that to keep the wind out of my ears, pull on a double-layer Columbia coat (over a fleece pullover), and slip my hands into leather mittens with sheep wool lining–and that’s just to walk the dog! Staying warm in the biting cold is a challenge for man and beast–and birds! Our resident red-bellied woodpecker with his bright red head and barred feathers found a place out of the wind on the maple tree.
He clutched the tree with his strong feet, used his tail feathers for an anchor, and fluffed up his feathers for added insulation. As the wind whipped around the tree, he would close his eyes.
And then he hunkered down–as well as a bird can while perching on the side of a tree.
I have seen birds preen this way, but he just tucked his head into his feathers–first one way, then the other. It was the perfect way for staying warm on a frigid, windy day.
Later that afternoon, I saw him fly to the feeder, grab a sunflower seed, take it back to the windless side of the tree to eat, then return to the feeder again and again. It takes nourishment to stay warm, too, especially from the fat in the black oil sunflower seeds.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness,” writes John Steinbeck. Our Minnesota winter has been relatively mild this year compared to most others. And yet, I always marvel when the weather warms enough to go outside without a coat and with just a pair of flip-flops on my feet! We, along with the birds and animals, have our ways for staying warm. There is sweetness in coming back into the house for a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace after trekking through the snow and cold on an invigorating hike. There is a quiet comfort in a warm, secure home, which is not a reality for some people. There is warmth in sharing a nourishing meal of soup and bread. And there is the sometimes taken-for-granted warmth of Love from our family members and friends, without which we would truly be out in the cold. How do you stay warm?