Our Seasons and the Reason to Celebrate
Dec 2,
Living in Northern Michigan you become very accustom to the seasonal changes. For me it’s an important part of what makes this place so special. We see and feel the changes. The advent of winter brings long nights, weeks of clouds, snow and bad driving conditions. But on the bright side, the snow and winter forest shadows are beautiful whenever the sun find a crack in the ever-present cloud cover. It found that opening today but for a fleeting few minutes. Renee and I were driving into the nursery to finish some wreath making when it appeared, it was radiant. At the nursery there is no dirty snow like that along roadways, just trees and their shadows and the sparkling of the sun off the snow. By the time I tuned off the engine at the polyhouse the clouds stole the sun away, gone for the remainder of the day. But we have that memory to hold to until we see it again.
At the Winter Solstice it seems the sun stops a few days and the earth starts the slow rotation to sunshine and warmth. It takes a few months but we finally get to Spring. It warms humans, plants and wildlife. Spring is a wakeup call to all of us giving hope that summer will soon be here. It takes forever for the leaves to open fully. It’s almost like they are hedging their bets that there’ll be another cold night, even well into the month of May, so they don’t want to completely expose themselves. If you find a deformed leaf in early summer many times it’s frost damage as the leaf is unfurling, usually not noticed until the leaf is fully open. It’s a little unsightly but nothing to worry about.
Plants are completely tuned into the seasons, and winter is the most abrupt season for them to prepare for. The cold nights, falling sunlight is the signal to get ready. Deciduous plants start preparing for winter in early August, sending sugars and nutrients gathered during summer to the roots for storage. They save some sugar’s for their overwintering buds to ward off the cold (sugar freezes at a lower temperature than water) and hoping for snow to insulate their roots. We have so much in common with plants yet in the autumn plants are shedding all that isn’t needed and we’re digging out our sweaters, winter coats, hats and gloves. Evergreens have needles with a heavy waxy covering, a winter coat if you will, also sugars mixed with other compounds similar to antifreeze that circulate through the needles.
Mourning Cloak is a butterfly that overwinters as an adult in our forest finding a crevasse in a tree trunk. While hiking in mid-April, I’ve found them searching for nectar. The only flower I’ve found this early in the spring was Hepatica with its small but beautiful flower. Soon to follow will be serviceberry and red maple blossoming. To think such a small creature can survive up here through the winter is truly remarkable. Every time I see one during the summer and see their delicate beauty I’m reminded of their toughness.
Winter Solstice usher in the start of the earth turning on its axles to eventual bring about spring. We come in from the cold of winter to a heated home to warm our bodies and enjoy friends and family. The seasons here are for change and for celebration.
Dec.4
As I finish writing this journal entry the sun has broken through, a blessing to the eyes and the soul.
