False Spring- Hope

"And the Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast

Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.”

― Percy Bysshe Shelley,

Winter can sometimes seem long and harsh. When temperatures don't reach above freezing and the mercury does not seem to be alive, the great outdoors can feel bare and dead. Cold Artic winds blowing down from the North and freezing the ground. There may not even be snow to blanket what is hidden below, ice crystals pushing up as the ground hardens deeper and deeper. Thank goodness for modern technology on insulated layers of clothes so we can still peak outside for brief breaths of fresh air. The sun can even shine to tease you through the windows giving a feeling of warmth, until you run quick outside to the mail box and remember why you keep the coat by the door.

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”

― Francis of Assisi

Winter really does not last any longer than the other seasons, but the grey skies, cold winds and knowing time outside is limited can make Winter seem to stretch its time share out. Even in midst of Winter we usually grab a week of false Spring, finally the snow has melted, the winds can die down and the sun appears. Places where the sun can reach the ground it might actually defrost for a brief moment of mid day, but walk around to that forever shaded area and mother nature will remind you, it is still Winter. We look to the groundhog to for tell us the future of weather....will Winter continue or is there a hope of Spring to shine soon? A silly but has become a ritual from the German migrants back to 1887. Groundhogs Day. Germans developed their own take on the legend, pronouncing the day sunny only if badgers and other small animals glimpsed their own shadows. When German immigrants settled Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought the custom with them, choosing the native groundhog as the annual forecaster. While sunny winter days are indeed associated with colder, drier air, we probably shouldn’t trade in our meteorologists for groundhogs just yet.

However, Groundhogs Day comes, February 2 and it can spark the excitement for Spring to be around the corner for us. In the Pacific Northwest, for as long as I can recall the past 42 years, there is a false Spring that comes end of January prior to our little varmints day. Every year I listen to the people around excited of the sunshine and warm days that gives us a little break in mid Winter. Maybe the break is what we need to endure 6-8 more weeks of cold, snow, wind and freezing temperatures.

"You can walk in a dream while you are awake

Just walk in the misty morning of a forest"- unknown

Yet there is much we can still do to not let Winter get us down, the Eagles have only weeks left of hanging around before they start their Spring migration. Some wildlife will be moving around as the herd animals will shed their antlers before Spring and maybe access areas again as the snow melts away. Plenty of small woodland creatures did not retreat for Winter and happily find food as the snow disappears. Even a few Spring bulbs have started to awaken pushing up through the dirt. Maybe the break in Winter is not a false Spring, but actual hope and reminder Winter will not endure forever. The days are getting longer, sunrise that was in December is now almost an hour earlier as well as sunset. The world around will slowly awaken and warm up as Winter slowly melts away.

"Believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful- an endless prospect of magic and wonder"- Ansel Adams