Winter’s Many Layers

Winter is all about Layers

In these bitter winter months the people all walk around with Layers on. Everyone from our mothers to the fashion marketers suggest we “layer up”. Many of the mammals in our midst layer on a new thicker coat for the season. So I guess it makes sense that when I think of Winter in in our woods, I think of it as layers. The first layer, the sky, is very much a part of winter, it creates the atmosphere and has the power to elevate or depress the mood of millions of humans daily. The sun shines and we all get giddy. Then , beneath the powerful sky, the layer that we live and dwell in- the land. The cold land and its abundance of snow, ice and this winter, mud. Usually when I see something beautiful I want to reach out and touch it.( I have to watch myself in museums and jewelry stores) But the beauties of winter do not tempt me to touch. Mud everywhere as the temperatures keep freezing and thawing. I am trying hard to appreciate mud.

Then underground all the dormant bulbs, seeds, plants. Sometimes I find myself distracted as I consider about all that is happening beneath my feet. All the intense waiting that is occuring just beyond our sight.