Beautifully described... I love winter also.... For me the season is not reminding me of what is yet to come or what has just completed.... But rather...winter is celebrating... Not sure if it is meteorologically sound or not..... But sunrises seen to be the most spectacular in the winter..... So I love beginning each day with a colorful dynamic winter morn...
Winter is celebrating...! I think that's kind of how I feel, Barry. Again, it's connected to the farming years, when the off season meant we had successfully completed another round. Always something to celebrate. thanks for sharing these lovely thoughts.
We witnessed the transformation of snow on a landscape last weekend in Tahoe. Lodgepole pines 50 feet tall holding snow on their branches. The absolute quiet.
Though we never had *that* kind of snow, I miss knowing we'll get several inches a few times each winter. You're right. There is something truly remarkable about that quiet. Those pines must have been something. Thanks, Ann.
I love seeing winter (and all the seasons) through your eyes. I have long known that summer is actually my least-favorite season--at least, the second half of it, when it's just too hot now and everything in the usually verdant PNW has turned brittle brown. (Maybe I exaggerate. But that's how it feels.) Going to savor what's left of winter and be so glad that I don't have pollen allergies! Also, I loved that sentence about the groundhog. :-)
Thank you, Rita. Since these feelings began so long ago, I know they're not rooted in climate changes, but you're right that summer is even more unbearable now. I'm sure that also has to do with my own internal heating mechanisms (ahem!), but give me cool and crisp any time over that! Poor Punxsutawney Phil. He has a hard job.
I find many things in winter as in a love hate situation. When it’s bitter cold and I don’t need to go outside - it’s inward I go with a lovely fire and a book. Not something I could do in spring or summer, maybe fall. So I appreciated all seasons, some more than others and at different times.
Thanks, Lori. Yes, each season brings its own unique patterns and activities. I enjoy the rhythms and changes, but as you say, some fit me better than others. Appreciate you!
I like that word "necessary," Stephanie. Maybe it doesn't seem that way for those whose seasons are more limited. But here, it feels like the balance would be off without it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Another winter's child here, Elizabeth. Thank you for such a rich and empathetic description of the ways all the seasons bless us, and why some of us love this quiet one the best.
A beautiful post, and I love the final quadrant of images looking up through the trees. I love gray days.... I prefer them. It's easier to see. When I first started reading, I smiled when I got to the "not me" - the admission that you enjoy the winter, the gray and the quiet.
It really is easier to see, with less contrast and glare. I do love a blue-sky day in winter, but I'm not offended when the sun and sky also need a break. And here we are, wintering together. Thank you, Amy.
I too, love the seasonal changes and all of the delights they hold . Not so much , the heat/humidity, mud, bugs that bite (and suck), and lack of sunlight : but ; without each of these seasons to look forward to , I would feel as if I had no sense of belonging in nature’s continuous beginnings and endings. I enjoy the cycles of growth, death, renewal,and renewal. Thank you for most eloquently illustrating the beauty of belonging to the Fabulous Four (seasons,that is)
A committed hibernator -- I love that! If you want a deeper dive into that SAD concept, check out the linked article. I found it very compelling. Thanks for reading and commenting, Jaihn. (By the way, would you mind sharing how you pronounce that?)
Thank you, Elizabeth. I will read the article. Pronounce Jaihn to sound like Jane. I’m a fairly recent arrival In Substack land, would love to welcome you over to my offerings, too. Looking forward to exploring more of your writings.
Each season just has such defined and idiosyncratic beauty that its hard to pick.
I love the absolute chill of winter and the way I move far more energetically. I love the thrill of my spring garden - all the bulbs and seedlings showing off in a profusion of colour. I love the amber and garnet shades of autumn and the way jewel colours fly on the wind when it blows. And I love summer for swimming, for diving down into crystal water and listening to the tick-tick of the underworld, the white sand stretching into the darker blue never-never as the sea gets deeper and deeper.
But winter is purifying, my brain thinks better, I love rugging up, hot chocolates and marshmallows and soups and fresh-made bread.
So I share your feelings and wonder if we ever knew each other in another life...
No doubt, there is something to love about them all -- but I find myself with fewer things to DISLIKE about winter than many folks' do. I smiled at your "absolute chill" as you might smile at my "heat and humidity." We both have some bragging rights on those. Prue, I absolutely LOVE the idea of having known you in a former life. It sure seems so! Thanks for being here..now.
Such a beautiful reflective post. You've explored all the seasons in words of such positivity and light - and I love that you have claimed winter as your favourite. Stunning.
Right there with you, plus my partner is a former farmer and she’s described how winter is a needed (relative) rest for farmers. Nordic skating increases my appreciation for winter. People are getting excited for spring and I still want the ponds to freeze better.
Relative rest, for sure! And I just read an article pointing out how unseasonably warm temperatures are the cause of current (as in March 1) algal blooms in Pennsylvania. :stink eye: Thanks for the comment, Erik!
Huzzah! Another kindred spirit! Thanks, Luisa.
i absolutely adore this perspective. i love this time of quiet darkness.
And I am delighted to know that about you, Roe. There are some who look at me as if I have two heads. LOL!
Beautifully described... I love winter also.... For me the season is not reminding me of what is yet to come or what has just completed.... But rather...winter is celebrating... Not sure if it is meteorologically sound or not..... But sunrises seen to be the most spectacular in the winter..... So I love beginning each day with a colorful dynamic winter morn...
Winter is celebrating...! I think that's kind of how I feel, Barry. Again, it's connected to the farming years, when the off season meant we had successfully completed another round. Always something to celebrate. thanks for sharing these lovely thoughts.
We witnessed the transformation of snow on a landscape last weekend in Tahoe. Lodgepole pines 50 feet tall holding snow on their branches. The absolute quiet.
Though we never had *that* kind of snow, I miss knowing we'll get several inches a few times each winter. You're right. There is something truly remarkable about that quiet. Those pines must have been something. Thanks, Ann.
I love seeing winter (and all the seasons) through your eyes. I have long known that summer is actually my least-favorite season--at least, the second half of it, when it's just too hot now and everything in the usually verdant PNW has turned brittle brown. (Maybe I exaggerate. But that's how it feels.) Going to savor what's left of winter and be so glad that I don't have pollen allergies! Also, I loved that sentence about the groundhog. :-)
Thank you, Rita. Since these feelings began so long ago, I know they're not rooted in climate changes, but you're right that summer is even more unbearable now. I'm sure that also has to do with my own internal heating mechanisms (ahem!), but give me cool and crisp any time over that! Poor Punxsutawney Phil. He has a hard job.
Yeah, it's not just the climate that has changed, is it? 😉
It’s such a lovely story, thank you Elizabeth!
I find many things in winter as in a love hate situation. When it’s bitter cold and I don’t need to go outside - it’s inward I go with a lovely fire and a book. Not something I could do in spring or summer, maybe fall. So I appreciated all seasons, some more than others and at different times.
Thanks, Lori. Yes, each season brings its own unique patterns and activities. I enjoy the rhythms and changes, but as you say, some fit me better than others. Appreciate you!
from plant sex residue to prayer flags -- more incredible writing, a welcome light in the lush and necessary darkness.
I like that word "necessary," Stephanie. Maybe it doesn't seem that way for those whose seasons are more limited. But here, it feels like the balance would be off without it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I feel like a warm blanket was just tucked around me. Thank you, Elizabeth for your winter insights.
Snuggle up! That's the ticket! Maybe it's all about letting go of our resistance? Thanks, Deborah.
Another winter's child here, Elizabeth. Thank you for such a rich and empathetic description of the ways all the seasons bless us, and why some of us love this quiet one the best.
Yay us! Also, though, I'm glad there are folks to counter my decreased enthusiasm for summer. We need someone to cheerlead for every season!
A beautiful post, and I love the final quadrant of images looking up through the trees. I love gray days.... I prefer them. It's easier to see. When I first started reading, I smiled when I got to the "not me" - the admission that you enjoy the winter, the gray and the quiet.
It really is easier to see, with less contrast and glare. I do love a blue-sky day in winter, but I'm not offended when the sun and sky also need a break. And here we are, wintering together. Thank you, Amy.
I too, love the seasonal changes and all of the delights they hold . Not so much , the heat/humidity, mud, bugs that bite (and suck), and lack of sunlight : but ; without each of these seasons to look forward to , I would feel as if I had no sense of belonging in nature’s continuous beginnings and endings. I enjoy the cycles of growth, death, renewal,and renewal. Thank you for most eloquently illustrating the beauty of belonging to the Fabulous Four (seasons,that is)
Right you are! I wouldn't want to give up any of them, and clearly am not one to want to wish my winter away! Thanks, Melody. Good to see you here.
"Not Quite Yet" - Yes! I'm a committed Hibernator - Nov to March, / 'Hallowe'en to Easter' - generally, I'm amped-down, snuggled up, just simply going along.
February feels like a precious 'still-deeply-quiet' time.
I liked what you said about SAD being approach-influenced.
I've so enjoyed this Winter. It's good to find mirrors of that enjoyment, thank you.
A committed hibernator -- I love that! If you want a deeper dive into that SAD concept, check out the linked article. I found it very compelling. Thanks for reading and commenting, Jaihn. (By the way, would you mind sharing how you pronounce that?)
Thank you, Elizabeth. I will read the article. Pronounce Jaihn to sound like Jane. I’m a fairly recent arrival In Substack land, would love to welcome you over to my offerings, too. Looking forward to exploring more of your writings.
Snap!
Each season just has such defined and idiosyncratic beauty that its hard to pick.
I love the absolute chill of winter and the way I move far more energetically. I love the thrill of my spring garden - all the bulbs and seedlings showing off in a profusion of colour. I love the amber and garnet shades of autumn and the way jewel colours fly on the wind when it blows. And I love summer for swimming, for diving down into crystal water and listening to the tick-tick of the underworld, the white sand stretching into the darker blue never-never as the sea gets deeper and deeper.
But winter is purifying, my brain thinks better, I love rugging up, hot chocolates and marshmallows and soups and fresh-made bread.
So I share your feelings and wonder if we ever knew each other in another life...
No doubt, there is something to love about them all -- but I find myself with fewer things to DISLIKE about winter than many folks' do. I smiled at your "absolute chill" as you might smile at my "heat and humidity." We both have some bragging rights on those. Prue, I absolutely LOVE the idea of having known you in a former life. It sure seems so! Thanks for being here..now.
Such a beautiful reflective post. You've explored all the seasons in words of such positivity and light - and I love that you have claimed winter as your favourite. Stunning.
Right there with you, plus my partner is a former farmer and she’s described how winter is a needed (relative) rest for farmers. Nordic skating increases my appreciation for winter. People are getting excited for spring and I still want the ponds to freeze better.
Relative rest, for sure! And I just read an article pointing out how unseasonably warm temperatures are the cause of current (as in March 1) algal blooms in Pennsylvania. :stink eye: Thanks for the comment, Erik!