Winter

February

They say the darkest time of the night is just before dawn. The harshest part of winter is now upon us, the month of February. If there ever is a month of the year that is just nasty and terrible, it must be the month of February. This month is cold and wintry, following the previous two and half months of cold winter weather. It’s not fun.

Snow Covered Woods

February is the month when the cold breeze seems the coldest. It’s when the salt on the cars and the roads seems the harshest. It probably is not the harshest weather of the year, as already the days have gotten somewhat longer, and we are past the coldest days of the year, but it still seems like winter continues to have us in it’s fangs. Our heating bills will continue to be high.

Traffic Jam

February is going to be a tough month for all of us. Maybe Merle Haggard should have sung, If We Make It Through February. The only upside to this month is that once we make through February, it will be March which will eventually lead to a thawing out in April. The grass in April will be brown, and burn bans a-high, but then things will green up and the beauty of spring will return in May.

Snowy State

February is just a single month. It’s not the nicest month, but as all things come and go, it must come to a pass. Look at the upside — it’s the shortest month of the year! Maybe the Ground Hog this year, for the first time, will actually be right and say no to six more weeks of winter! Let’s make it through February and towards nicer weather in the spring.

January

The month of January is the coldest month of the year, if the thermometer is to be believed. It’s not the grayest or snowiest month of the year, or even the most harshest month of the year (a time reserved for February). While the days are slowly getting longer in January, the growth in daylight is small compared to months to come.

Cold on Snake Mountain.

We will go out skiing and snowshoeing, spending time riding snowmobiles and enjoying nature’s gift of the snow. It won’t always be perfect weather, but like every season we must make the most of it. It’s winter, and it only lasts for about half of the year in New York State.

Moving Down the Hill

There will be days where we will go outside, and the mercury won’t even reach 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind is whipping down from the North. There will be days and weeks when the roads are covered with ice and snow. People will struggle to find parking spots in the city, as parking spots are replaced with ice covered patches and snow banks. Driving will only be nice this time of year, because the insides of cars will be toasty. It’s going to be very winter-like out there for the next month.

Southern Adirondacks

At the same time, there will be the much needed winter thaw. We might finally for a few days loose all of the snow, and it get up into the balmy 40 degrees range. Winter doesn’t always mean that it’s going to be supercold, and indeed, we must certainly will see a brief mud season during January for a couple of days when the sun makes us think of a false spring.

Stream Down

January is when we get over the Christmas Season high. The lights on the trees are taken off, the Christmas trees are dumped into the brush pile to be chipped sometime when spring comes in another five months. The colorful wrapping the presents have come in are now charred down to nothing but ash. New Years Eve celebrations are just a memory, as we wake up hung over on this first day of the year.

Snow Covered Woods

We will all promise ourselves to do better this year then last year. Whether or not we will live up to it in the new year, is a totally different thing. Maybe we will do good for this month of January, then fall down in subsequent months. Regardless, in many ways, January is a month of great hope that we can change and overcome our human fallacies. A benchmark, that is pretty meaningless, but one we must find ourselves embracing every year.

December

Today starts the month of December. It’s quite a remarkable thing because it seems like it just was November and then October with the beauty of all the fall colors. Hunting season has been under way for almost two weeks now, and Thanksgiving came and went so quickly.

Christmas Tree I

It’s the month when we celebrate Christ’s birthday, and are overwhelmed by crass consumerism of the Christmas Season. For some it’s a time of meaningless giving, while for others it’s a true celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, a child whose much fabled birth would forever change history. We attend religious services and light candles to celebrate his birth.

Snow Files

It’s also time of celebration, with many special Christmas parties and family gatherings. We see the first snows of the year, as our families and friends come back together for fantastic meals and time for fellowship.

Snow Covered Mountain

December is the final month of the year. It’s a time of looking back at the past year and all that has changed. Much has changed in the world around us, and we all have changed as individuals. We look forward to a new year and all that it will bring to our society.

March

They say this month comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. This is the month where the harshest part of winter comes to an end and spring starts to take over. Certainly by the end of the month we may start having some temperate warm days, as average high temperatures start to work their ways over 50 degrees.

The thaw is much needed this year. It has been a long harsh winter. The green that will soon surround us will refresh and inspire us; it will wash away all the salt and muck that has piled up throughout the winter. We need to be able to put away our winter coats and enjoy the great outdoors without being bundled up.

While nobody thinks that things will green up this month, the warmer weather and the melting snow is a sign of what is to come. Things will get muddy, and we will get more snow, but the calender will say spring as we move into nicer warmer weather, finally.

Soon will be when we can go out camping and enjoy long summer evenings under the stars. When a weekend hike won’t involve cold but just the beauty of springtime and summertime. When the summer seems endless and we won’t have to think of shoveling anything related to snow or ice.

This times are near. We just have to work out way through this cold month and it will become nice once again by the end of April..

Think Spring!

Burst of Color

Ground Hog Day

Today is Ground Hog Day, when Punxsutawney Phil is pulled out of his den to find out if he has a shadow, and to forecast the rest of the winter season. We all hope that he does not see his shadow, so that by some act of nature the spring will come six weeks earlier. It’s unlikely though, especially in the northeast.

Frame 59

It’s been awful snowy all winter, including one bitterly cold burst during January. You can argue it’s been worst then most years. The good news is that the worst is beyond us, and mud season can only be a dozen or so weeks away. Some how getting your truck stuck in the mud and muck beats this terrible winter weather.

Distant Mountains

We all want this season will come to an end. It was fun at first, but not so much now. Things will get warm, and it will be wonderful spring then summer. We will be sweating once again outdoors, and spending long nights looking up at the moon, sitting around the campfire. But for now, enjoy the cold.

Merry Christmas

Today is December 25th, which is known around many households as Christmas. A truly wonderful celebration of Christ’s birth and time for families to come together once again. Many of us have wonderful holiday traditions this year, and enjoy feasts with the family. It truly is a great time.

Last Night for Tree

In this holiday season don’t forget Christ and the natural world that sustains us all. Spend sometime observing the beauty of the simplicity of Christ’s birth in a hay manger in a cow stall. Go out and feel that cold winter air and think how it must have felt that cold winter night some 2009 years ago today. Take in a deep breath, and realize your taking in the same air that Jesus once did centuries earlier.

Today is a special day. Enjoy it.