Most of my life I have hated the season of cold and snow. To be fair, from the time I was in 3rd grade I have usually lived in cold houses. Most of them were heated with inadequate wood or coal stoves. Often there was a shortage of fuel for same. Brrr......
However, birding has changed all that.
Shivering is still not a favorite and we still do a certain amount of it, what with living in this beast of a house built for summer, and heating with an outdoor wood stove.
Now though, I am awake to the blinding beauty of the season. If you get a chance, drive in the country on a clear day, dusk or dawn. Besides the opportunity to find exciting birds...last night we think we spotted two Short-eared Owls!!!!...the colors are heart-stopping.
Colors that don't have names yet surround the horizons.
Snow is said to be white but, early and late, colors reflected by the low-hanging sun stain it with a magical palette that defies such a simple description.
Stubble from last year's corn and grasses punctuate that snowy canvas in shades of pure, rich gold.
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| The rarely seen Pink-butted Goose, not to be confused with the better-known Pink-footed Goose. Nothing like sunrise..... |
I won't say that I love winter now....see above about shivering....and after all, it isn't spring is it?
But I have warm clothes...a lot of them, hot water bottles for the worst days....and most days I just can't wait to get out in winter.
And as a bonus-no ticks!
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| Another kind of winter fun |
Dan and I suffer from "cabin fever' in the winter. A long drive in the country cures it. You describe the beauty well. We don't always bird and often end up at a coffee shop in some small town we've never visited before.
ReplyDeleteI always love your descriptive blog posts...I try to like winter. I really do, but come MARCH or the hint of MARCH my soul sings!
ReplyDeleteJonna, we fight it every day and you are right, getting out helps a lot. Glad that you are doing so. Thanks for your kind words. We combine all our errands with a little driving around and birding if we can. I have some amazing finds from store parking lots! lol
ReplyDeleteLinda, thanks! I am ready for March as well. I am so sick of ice! Got through the whole winter without a single fall, then fell twice this week. And my poor mom fell too and two nice strangers who saw it happen came down their drive and helped her up. We have been trying to keep both places sanded and all, but every single day it thaws and then freezes again. I am ready to be done. Take care, now!