Winter Begins

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours."

-- Robert Byrne

I love the seasons.  When I was young I lived along the California coast and was seldom treated to seasonal changes.  Median temperatures were in the mid to high 60s and this was only that low due to the fog banks that hung to the coast most of the time.  It isn't true that it never rains in southern California, and it also isn't true that the coast is always warm and sunny as any surfer can attest, even though surfers spend a good bit of their time under clouds or in the fog, cold and wet.  If we wanted to see the seasons we had to travel inland and the best place to experience winter was Fish Camp just outside of Yosemite.

 

For me, winter has always been about a snuggling down in front of a warm fire with a hot beverage.  It was a time for cross country skiing, snow mobiles, and snow blowers.  It was a time to shovel the car out of the snow drift and curse the plow as he buried it again immediately after I'd finished.  It was building a snowman and throwing a snowball.  It was Christmas music and good cheer.  I was lucky enough to be home based, for most of my military career, at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington.  It had all of this, and more.

 

Since my retirement from military service I have spent the last 20 years in Olympia, located on the other side of the mountains from Washington's "high desert."  Like the California coast, it might seem Olympia spends most of the year under clouds, cold and wet, with a bit of dreary thrown in for variety.  It has some occasional snow, and the fall color mostly comes from non-native trees planted as landscaping or reforestation over the many years.  Instead of the gorgeous winter scenes of Washington's mountains, we have the photo above.  The accidents would seem out of place in an area which enjoys the same weather pretty much all year round, unless you attribute it to  either over confidence or the California migrants looking for a less expensive life style.

 

The upside of Olympia is that, when it's beautiful here it can be absolutely wonderful and the people try to make the most of it with sports, recreation, food, and the arts.  There is nothing like the Olympic Peninsula, in the summer, when the sun is out.

 

Meanwhile, along with the rest of the U.S., we've been fighting the cold temperatures.  The 15 degree evenings we've suffered through for the past week have started to abate.  I knock wood that I'm not on the east coast, and wish for them a speedy return to normalcy. Or, do I? 

 

Winter officially begins on Saturday and, as much as I'm glad I'm not suffering the winter warning alerts for the east coast, deep down I envy everyone getting a good depth of snow.  I would so much enjoy a white Christmas, coming in the house, after tubing down a snowy hillside, to be greeted by a roaring fire, some hot spiced rum and a bowl of chili.  There is something about the warmth of a fire that makes the pine bough wreathe over the mantle explode with evergreen fragrance.  Christmas music, along with the aroma of pine, spiced rum, and chili gently slaps you in the face as the door opens, so you never forget it.

 

Winter may be nature's way of saying, "Up yours!" but, for some of us, we look nature right in the eye and boldly dare, "Bring it!"

 

We should also keep in mind that without winter, nature would die.  Winter is God's way of letting nature recover.  I've often thought you could feel the tension on the winding key as it tightens during winter.  Animals hunker down, plants rejuvenate, glaciers and lakes replenish supplies of needed water all in preparation for nature to "spring" forth with the long awaited explosion of life, color, and sunshine.  Winter is just another part of God's masterful plan for sustainability of this little blue marble we call earth.  

 

Here's wishing everyone an enjoyable winter!