Winter isn’t so bad

There are people who love winter and then there are people who don’t. I tend to be part of the latter group. Other than the few, maybe 5, days where it snows and the world looks like a Christmas carol, I’m not the biggest fan of the season. As a staunch spring supporter I’ve never been very fond of its cold and dark polar opposite.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are events worth celebrating and enjoying during the winter! Birthdays and Christmas make me feel merry and festive. I love baking cookies and feeling cozy wearing scarves and boots. But the whole time I find myself aching for spring. I can’t wait for the barren branches to be bursting with new greenery. For the hard ground to soften and bring forth new grass and daffodils.

As I look back on past winters I am realizing that I spent so much time waiting for the next season that I didn’t make the effort to appreciate the one I was in. Perhaps because I hadn’t had the opportunity to really see what could be great about winter.

this view never gets old, no matter the season

But so far I feel like this year is different. After experiencing every other season on the farm and finding immense beauty to appreciate in each one, winter can’t be the only exception! Since I’m spending so much time outside I’m feeling less antsy and the weather isn’t as bad as it used to seem from behind a window. Sure it’s cold, but not unbearable! That’s what layers are for! And tea.

Here is a partial list of things that I am coming to appreciate about winter:

1. Big fluffy clouds | wispy clouds | all-encompassing foggy clouds | pillowy clouds sitting on mountaintops
2. The ability to see far across the landscape without leaves and dense brush obstructing the view
3. The textures of winter are lovely: shaggy bark | slim, intertwining branches | the crest of a mountain looking like a scraggly beard
4. Any little bit of color left in the natural world really stands out. Fluorescent yellow golden thread bushes | snow-white sycamore trunks | blood-red winterberry bushes | deep, dark, green evergreens.
5. When a sunny day does come along it seems to be the sunniest day you’ve ever seen.

Being part of the farm I can also still see growth during winter. Thanks to the marvels that are high tunnels we still have rows upon rows of fresh, bright salad greens and crisp radishes. Even outside plants still cling to life. Under fabric row cover we have parsley that is still coming with us to market. Discarded green onions from a harvest months ago began sprouting new roots with no help at all. Rosemary and thyme are holding on strong.

colorful salads make winter days bright

I guess I used to think that winter was a period of death and destruction when all the verdant things shriveled up. If they were covered up with snow then I could ignore it and hope for spring to come faster.

But I now can appreciate winter as a period of rest. For the plants and trees and soil. And for me. As a farmer I understand the need for rest at the end of a tiring season! We worked hard to produce all the food we did and our bodies need to rejuvenate. What better time than when everything else is doing the same?

after a morning rain

So I am resolving this winter to appreciate what I can. Sure there will be days when the monochromatic world outside is not what I want to see once again. But I know that there are spots of color and texture that I can look for that will make me happier.

As I sit here, in a cozy winery near the farm drinking a glass of red, I am watching huge cottony swaths of clouds whisk past the windows. They swirl and change shape in an instant and the sky doesn’t look the same for more than a couple seconds. Yes, it’s gray out there, but look how many shades of that color can exist in one sky!

so many layers of gray

I hope you all can find some color and joy out there amidst these monochrome days. Happy holidays and best wishes for this new year!

~Sophia