After
the winter of 14/15 that we went through, you might react to the subject in one
of two ways: 1) delight in what cold
felt like since Connecticut is at the end of its second heat wave of this summer, with high humidity ; or 2) you remember what cold felt like and you went
running and screaming in a southerly direction. Either way, the signs of our
upcoming winter are beginning to show themselves.
I
can’t help but notice that the trees are starting to change color. It’s very subtle
on most trees, but there are a few that are in almost full autumn array.
In
conjunction with color change, the leaves are beginning to shrink. When I look
out at the woods behind my condo, I’m beginning to see daylight in places that
were once a solid wall of leaves.
Another
sign of winter, and this looks like it could be a bad one (the winter that is,
not the sign), there is a bumper crop of choke cherries this year on the trees
around the complex.
Would
you believe the birds are beginning to assemble outside my patio door? First it
was the mourning doves and today a bunch of sparrows. They are rummaging around
where the seeds get thrown on the ground all winter. Pretty soon I start
feeling like I’m in the middle of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Last
week the Old Farmer’s Almanac showed up on my Facebook page twice. Like I
didn’t notice the first time that it’s predicting a worse winter than last
year. Then, again on Facebook, I get a multi-colored map showing well above average snowfall for the mid-Atlantic
coast right up through coastal New England. The rest of you folks are gonna git
it too, so don’t go being so smug!
Here’s
an observation of interest: no acorns and no squirrels. I’ve read somewhere
that the acorns go on a cycle that has nothing to do with squirrels and
vice-versa. However, when there are fewer squirrels born in the spring, I sorta
kinda get the feeling that there is going to be an acorn shortage…and there
usually is.
Some
of you take off for Florida or some other winter-warm place. I do miss you when
you’re gone, and always so happy to see you when you return with that obscene
tan.
No
matter how you choose to face the coming winter, there is no way to stop it. I
have such deep New England roots that I don’t mind winter. I’m blessed with a
nice warm home with enough food to get me through the storms, and a crew of
shovel-toting guys who do the heavy lifting.
Perhaps
the biggest reason why I don’t mind winters…I marvel (maybe delight even) at the power of Nature.
How awesome these storms can be and what it takes for us to deal with the
results of that fury. As long as I have friends with generators, I’m all set!
Enjoy!
