Seasons

I love the seasons. Always have. I don't have a favorite season. I love them all for different reasons and for their individual beauty and the unique traits they each have. I have thought about this for a while and wanted to blog about it. I am going to do one season a day so I will hit them all.

I will start with Winter.

I am a little sad when it gets so cold, because I am a wimp in the cold. But once I acclimate, around the beginning of January, I am okay with it (given a little leeway to whine just a bit.) I love how you can see so much more because the trees have dropped their leaves. You can see people's houses back in the woods, their yards, their hidden treasures (pile of wood, car on blocks, yard full of dogs, etc.) The landscape changes without leaves on the trees. It's sort of like a big ol' head with thinning hair. You can see lakes you never saw before and the old stone walls that used to deliniate the property lines. I love seeing dogs walking with their owners, puffing steam out of their mouths. I like noticing how different people bundle up, or don't as the case may be. You see people who just wear the same windbreaker all year, even on the coldest days. And then you see people who wear coats over sweaters over shirts with hats and scarves and mittens and warm-looking boots. And I love when it snows. I love being out as it starts snowing. Snow makes a sound when it hits the ground. It makes almost a hissing sound when it's warm enough that the first flakes melt when they hit the ground. It does that for a while and then as it gets colder, it gets quieter. I love when the snow makes EVERYTHING white - ground, trees, telephone poles, wires, houses, grass, cars, streets...everything. Going out after a big snowstorm is one of my favorite things too. Seeing what nature has done to make us all slow down and take a break for a few minutes is amazing. It's quiet like the whole world is covered with down comforters. Trucks don't make the same sounds, the ambient highway noise is all but inaudible, even your speaking voice doesn't carry the same way with all that snow absorbing all the sound. And, of course, I love seeing animal prints in the snow. Dogs, cats, birds, deer....ANY animal prints. Just knowing that they were here and passed by is somehow awe inspiring. I love when the snow stays around for a while on the local streets and neighborhoods. I love noticing the houses that shovel and the ones that have that sharp edge to their driveways - you KNOW they have a snowblower. I love seeing Christmas and holiday decorations covered with snow. The lights and the bushes and the new blow up ones that wave a little with their blowers keeping them up and standing. I love small town squares at the holidays with their small town looking decorations all covered with snow too. The end of winter is always welcome, because I can only take so much cold and ice before I get really whiny. I never like the time late in winter when the snow that lingers gets dirty and dingy looking. But then it all melts, slow or fast. The trees look wet and bare. Everything starts to look like it's waiting for something. The days begin to be chilly rather than cold. Winter breaks.

More tomorrow.