Short Days and Long
Nights
As if everyone
doesn’t know allow me to bring you up to date, it is winter! We all know that
with winter we get inclement weather, rain, snow, sleet and that bone chilling
wind that blows in from Canada. As I stare out the big window in my office, I
am watching the rain fall and the dreariness that it brings. The day is gray
and gloomy and it makes me want to crawl up in my big recliner with a blanket,
a cup of hot coffee and a nice fire. As I look through the window I see the
rolling hills around east Tennessee with the low clouds and leave less tress
beckoning for the sun to once again bath them with the warmth of an early
spring. The yard is covered in brown grass that has gone dormant for its winter
sleep except for the weeds. It seems that weeds will grow any time of year and
maintain the green color of summer as if saying; I will be here when you start
that mower and you can’t get rid of me. The Mountain Laurel (Rhododendron) in
the backyard has begun to show signs of awakening its beautiful purple flower
but can’t decide whether to pop open or wait a few more weeks. The Crepe
Myrtles have long been pruned and their trunks look sad with nothing but their
naked brown branches standing in the ground. There are no joyful, happy sounds
coming from the neighborhood. The little children are tucked inside their warm
homes safe from the cold and dampness of the winter’s day. No one is cutting
their grass, trimming their sidewalks or washing their car. Occasionally I will
see a neighbor, bundled up in a jacket, moving hastily toward the mailbox,
braving the elements to check for whatever mail is delivered to them. It is
definitely winter-time and according to the local weather person, it will get worse
before it gets better.
What’s wrong with
winter? Winter comes after that beautiful fall season, where the colors adorned
the earth like a large quilted blanket beckoning us to try her on. We enjoyed
the warm days and cool nights and smelled the delicious aromas of the fires
burning leaves and branches in the yards and fields of the world. The fall
parties and cookouts celebrating the season enticed us to enjoy the days before
we are sentenced to our homes; indoors afraid to battle the elements as the
night air changed to bitter cold. The wonderful holidays that come with the
fall and winter season somehow make us forget that the cold waits as we bundle
up in our winter attire and travel to the parties that goes with the holiday
season. The fall and winter bring out the hunters in search of the prize buck
or doe that will provide some meat for the table and bragging rights if the
animals have the big rack that sits on top of its head. The ladies dress their
feet in boots and furry coats and the children have runny noses from the cold
as they are moved from a warm home or car to their destinations away from home.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with winter. We have
already had our first dusting of snow and the beauty it brought was similar to
that of a Norman Rockwell picture or a Christmas card just waiting to be sent
out. The snow covered the neighborhood in a pure white brilliance that reminded
me of the beauty that God meant our world to be. After the snow had settled on
the ground, the little sparrows and blackbirds converged on the yards in search
of food to appease their appetite. In the south, we have it much easier when it
comes to the chill of old man winter. Our snowfall is relatively small compared
to other parts of the country. In the areas in the north, they have only two
seasons, August and winter and the winters are brutal. It amazes me how people
in those parts of the country spend their time outdoors doing things like ice
fishing. I can think of a lot better ways to spend my time than sitting on a
huge block of ice (frozen lake) fishing through a hole waiting for a fish to
bite. I have sat in a deer stand in the rain in thirty degree weather and
almost froze or spent the day bird hunting in the same type weather. Winter is
God’s way of controlling the insect and animal population; it also allows the
trees to replenish roots system to grow and present their beautiful flowers for
the enjoyment of mankind. Peach trees need a certain amount of below freezing
weather in order to produce the fruit that we find so incredibly delicious as I
am sure other fruits varieties need as well. Without winter we would not have
spring and its glorious renewal of beauty and life that we so anxiously
anticipate and wait for. Without winter all of those coats and jackets would
get moth ridden sitting in the attic unused. Doctors and pharmaceutical
companies would be idle without the patients to see and administer flu shots
to. Drugstores would have empty sections where the cough and cold medicine used
to be and bugs and reptiles, bears and foxes would be constantly tired because
they had no time for their winter’s naps.
I don’t have a
problem with winter; I thoroughly enjoy the changing of the seasons and the
pictures each one brings us. I enjoy watching as the Canadian Geese fly to and
from in preparation of settling in for the coming months of cold weather. The
short days and long nights of winter allow us to restore or bodies from a long
season of summer frolic in the hot sun. Winter is a time that allows us to
anticipate the beauty of spring and the lazy, hazy days of summer and that
needed family vacation. Everyone should enjoy the cold days of winter, the warm
fire and the heavy blankets that keep us warm. My daughter lived in Kentucky
for several years and she would tell me that she needed yellow in her house to
get through the gray days of winter. So if winter is depressing you, go to the
store and buy a yellow vase or get yourself a bright yellow coat with a good
fur collar and know that if Punxsutawney
Phil doesn’t see his shadow, then spring
is upon us. Elvis Presley recorded a song that is appropriate for the winter, Walking
in the cold Kentucky Rain. I don’t know if I would suggest that because then
you may be visiting that doctor and pharmacy more often than anticipated.
“Life Happens”
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