How’s your hibernation going? Do you cast a wary eye out the window every morning wondering what new terror will confront your daily commute? Is it snow, ice, slush, freezing rain, 33 degrees and raining, or have a few days of warmer temperatures turned your front yard into a swamp?
It seems like this winter has provided us with the full spectrum of possibilities. But, if winter is a mountain buffeted by the valleys of fall and spring, we’re well past the summit and making our descent. We’re just about 30 days away from hearing the shrill cries of the first returning osprey. This week, pitchers and catchers from every Major League Baseball team will begin their 2011 campaigns. A friend posted pictures on her Facebook page of daffodils emerging in her garden. While we’re almost guaranteed to receive a last gasp snowstorm, winter is on its way out; even the groundhog said so!
So, enjoy the winter season while you still can. If that sentence made you spit out your coffee, I invite you to reconsider some of the pleasures of winter that are almost impossible to ignore.
[slidepress gallery=’mann0211′]My dog, Angus, celebrates each of the four distinct seasons that we, as Marylanders, are fortunate enough to experience. Whenever I take him out into a freshly snowy world, he greets it by rolling onto his back and shimmying through the powder. It’s as if he’s so excited to see the white stuff, he wants to greet it with every pore. Throughout this first year of dog-ownership, Angus has helped me to see nature more completely; winter is no exception.
The stinging cold wind coming off the Bay late at night smacks my face like a whip. I pull my hood lower and walk with a compacted stature, trying to hold onto every degree of body heat. It’s on nights like this that I marvel at nature’s resilience. In preparation for these conditions, the trees have dropped their leaves and gone dormant. Animals grow thicker coats, or huddle together, or burrow underground. One night in these conditions could easily kill a man, but nature endures it with an unblinking stoicism that I find humbling.
A walk through the woods after a fresh snow reveals the secret world that exists despite the fact that it’s imperceptible to most of us. The tracks on the ground show where deer and birds have made their way. But it’s the markings of raccoons, feral cats, rabbits, and foxes that amaze me. Here’s proof of the busy travels of these seldom seen creatures. For me, the mammals are the easiest to relate to. Despite ever decreasing habitats, they’re able to survive in harsh conditions with limited resources available for food. Faced with challenges that would bring most of us to our knees, nature once again reveals an indomitable spirit that provides me with a tremendous amount of inspiration.
Perhaps winter’s greatest gift is silence. If you’re brave enough to venture out to a park, beach, or trail, you will most likely be alone. After a long enough cold spell, even the waves of the Chesapeake are frozen in place. The suspended animation that seems to overtake the entire landscape has the same effect on my inner environment. It’s hard to arrive at such a still and quiet place and not become still and quiet yourself. In today’s hyper-connected world, there are fewer and fewer places where we can experience still and quiet. So, I value winter for its ability to hit the pause button on the world. If we’re willing to take it, the opportunity is there to stand peaceably among a frozen landscape and hear nothing but your breath, your heartbeat, and your thoughts.
How lucky we are to live in such a place.
susan reinsch says
Your words and pictures, both equally lovely, were a respite in my day. Thank you.