Frozen time unhinged . . .
pulsing, throbbing life unseen . . .
waiting to burst forth.
I’ve often wondered if those who live in a tropical or near-tropical part of the world experience the four seasons with as much joy, anticipation, and metaphorical musings as we do here in the North, where each one of the seasons is uniquely distinct! I would certainly miss the round of annual changes that have been a part of life forever—even during a handful of years in my beloved Colorado, which does also have definite changes although (happily!) it can be 70 degrees there at Christmas.
It is fun to grouse about winter, but the truth is I LOVE it—especially now that we are in our dotage, and don’t have to go out on the roads unless we really want to. Even a clinic appointment may be postponed if icy roads prevail.
I do know that occasional change can be delightful in winter. Back in the days when I flew at the drop of a WHIM, to visit our out-of-state children, I enjoyed an occasional week with our son, Karl, in Denver CO which was sometimes warmer than Wisconsin, and other times capable of producing a sudden 18 inches of snow.
And I recall one January when I visited our oldest daughter, Laura, in the environs of Bellingham, WA. I was treated with typical NW Rainforest weather. A constant quiet, warmish rain made music on the metal roof of Laura’s home—like the melodious, soothing repetition of a George Winston piano composition. I got so excited about the sound of the rain on the roof, that Laura’s six year old daughter, Nancy, asked—very pointedly—“Grandma! Doesn’t it ever rain in Wisconsin?”
Conversely, Laura has traditionally loved to come home to Wisconsin in January—especially when we lived in the deep, quiet Wisconsin Northwoods. There it is normally anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees below zero in January, the kind of weather when nose hairs freeze and crackle. The kind of weather where the sun, slowing climbing back Northward, is brilliantly blinding as it reflects on snow and ice.
Laura and I would sit each bitter cold, sunny morning, watching for the local bald eagle to cruise over our frozen flowage lake—while to the discerning eye, various soft tints of color occasionally played across the ice as the sun moved overhead.
Now, 285 miles South of that high winter home, we are just as contented. Winter is the deep quiet time of our four seasons year. For the home-loving soul who thrives on “making”, winter days are creative—whether “creative” means home-made bread hot from the oven, a painting, a morning of piano practice, a garment growing on the knitting needles, or most any other kind of “making”. In Wisconsin we have our deep snow winters, and our winters with hardly any snow. But winter is winter.
How thrilling to know that, as we relish this quiet time of crafting, music making, or whatever, the sun grows stronger and higher in our hemisphere every day. Each year I print out sunrise/sunset/length of day charts for December of the past year and January, February, and March of the current year.
The U.S. Navy produces these online charts. For the more scientific mind, charts including the length of twilight at each end of the day are available. But I am contented just to read the times of the sun’s appearing and disappearing—and the growing moments of daylight. Even as I type this blog entry, we have gained 5 minutes of daylight since the winter solstice. This thrills me to my bone marrow!
Growing daylight is a testimony to God’s faithfulness, as expressed in the beloved hymn: “Great is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas O. Chisholm (lyrics) and William Runyan (music). The verse, “Summer and winter, springtime and harvest—Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above—Join with all nature in manifold witness—To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love” resounds with truth and life through the visuals of our four seasons climate.
And winter, with its long deep quiet, is as much a witness to God’s faithfulness as spring and high summer with their green explosions, and autumn with its mellow bounty. In the winter we know that life continues quietly underground, gathering strength in the ever-increasing daylight while pulsing, throbbing, and waiting to burst forth!
Margaret L. Been — January 4th, 2019
Northern Reflections--glimpses of gold by Margaret L. Been 