Reasons to love the winter season

It's easy to get a bit fed up at this time of year in Northern climes, so let's think of some good things about winter. What makes you smile and be glad for the season, despite the short days and nippy temperatures?

a perfect snowflake

source

I like to be able to see the structure of the trees when they have lost their leaves. The different species have different silhouettes against the sky. The bare branches enable me to assess which trees are ready for coppicing more easily and I can spot birds nests I couldn't see in the summer.

Wychelm in winter

Beautiful.

I miss when it was cold in Winter. Now it is mildly cool. The big thick coat is not getting any use.

Gardening for winter interest is very fun. My favorites are the red dogwoods, the ultra shaggy bark of Kolkwitzia amabilis, and the blue and green glow of various junipers. There are so many different plants that are at their best during winter, especially the conifers. The guy who wrote the book "Gardening With Conifers" runs the garden at Bressingham in England, him giving this tour of the winter garden is pretty rad:

Pale blue absolutely clear winter skies. The invigorating feel of the first breath of frosty air. “Sun dogs” in the early morning sky. The hush of the world under a thick blanket of fresh snow.

Overall, I find it easier to work in the cold than in the heat. The trick is to work where I am sheltered from winter winds.

Winter is the only time that I get to see snow.

Every few years I might get to see icicles.

Winter is the time to enjoy indoor plants. From May to October they get bright indirect sunlight and rain underneath the oak trees and put on lots of growth. I give them one more repotting in late summer and bring them indoors before frost. The house curtains remain shut to reduce the heat coming from outside in summer time and it's the opposite in winter. I love watching the plants bathing in sunlight in those cold winter mornings.

Admittedly I find it hard to love winter. My body was not built for the cold and wants to go into hibernation each fall!
But I love the picturesque landscape on some winter days, and a reason to snuggle up on the sofa inside without excuses why I am not busy outside. A bit more time for being crafty, reading, cooking.

Right now we experienced the heaviest snowfalls since 90 years in Munich (ETA: in a december; we have had heavy snowfalls in the last years, but mostly January), trains, public transport and the airport are all shut down. We could barely make it to pick up our son from a friend on Friday. On Saturday, the younger daughter was not able to get to work (trains were suspended, and husband got stuck in the driveway when he tried to drive her). Older daughter has been stuck in another part of Munich after a party (for the third day now), we hope to pick her up somewhere near us when eventually the subway starts functioning today.

Yesterday when I realized the situation I made some more sourdough ready for baking and handed out little warm loaves to my neighbours in the afternoon. We have electricity, warmth and food, so really nothing to worry about, just a slowed-down life...

Winter is an interesting time for me. It is easy enough to complain about the cold and the snow but this is really when the 'cozy' factor of life appears. There is nothing like walking into a warm home after working out in the elements and being able to become comfortable. I sleep the best when it is colder. Burritoing myself into some blankets and become snug is one of the little delights in life.

Winter means plants come inside the house. Time is spent placing them strategically and setting up lighting/potting needs. We might have to trim up some plants or amend their soils but this work ensures future growth and success of the plants. Sometimes these are purchased plants that will eventually end up outside permanently but are too small but many of these plants live their life in pots such as my lemon tree or my two figs. Winter is work time!

One of my favorite views in winter is the contrast of dark bare tree limbs against bright blue sky. Beautiful photo of that, Nancy!
The night sky is much clearer in winter here, and it's awe-inspiring to look up on a crisp winter morning to see so many stars.

I find myself doing lots more crafts with my daughter as we look for indoor entertainment in the early evening. So that's a lot of fun right now.

Winter is coziness, baking, and doing indoor home maintenance without the pull of immediate outdoor tasks. Then I can bundle up and work outside at my leisure, pruning, mulching, etc. without the timeline of harvests or encroaching weed pressure.

For Thanksgiving in November, there are certain foods that we traditionally eat. I've started cooking those foods the whole month of November instead of just on Thanksgiving. I freeze a portion for the holiday if it's suitable, but otherwise we enjoy them as I make them. Rather than stressing in the kitchen, being exhausted on Thanksgiving, and gorging on favorite foods for a couple of days, I spread out the work and enjoyment for the whole month. I feel like that sums up what I want for winter. Not rushing, not gorging. Enjoying and appreciating the sights, smells, sounds, and tastes that come with this season. So I love winter because of the fleeting sensations that come with it -- the crunch of leaves underfoot, the spice of apple cider, the pure landscape of fresh snow, etc.

Winter is fantastic.

The mosquitoes have been banished back to the depths of hell from whence they came.

Walking our dog along a tree lined path and looking up at the bare trees with heavy frost along their twigs and branches. It looks just like a Christmas card picture. Naturally, my phone was at home so no photo.
Seeing how people have decorated their houses and businesses for the holidays.
Celebrating advent in church with the lighting of the first candle on the advent wreath. (Despite the fact you could see our breath this morning as it was so cold in there.)
Working on the inside of the house without feeling guilty that I'm not in the garden.
Sitting in the cosy living room in front of the woodstove, watching tv and knitting (at the same time).

Heavens Above I miss Winter!!! I sooooo took it for granted ( I used to live in the midwest) Now I live in the Deep South and a season of quiet and rest is just a dream...

John Wolfram wrote:Winter is fantastic.

The mosquitoes have been banished back to the depths of hell from whence they came.

AMEN BROTHER!!!

I had to muse at good ole Mother Nature today...Here is is mid December in Southeastern Indiana and I noticed some spinach popping up in my garden. I'm guessing it it the product of the Summer crop that I let go to seed. Nature is sure durable

I love being outside in extreme weather, walking my dogs or hiking. It makes me feel more alive and present and also makes me appreciate the comforts I take for granted.
I also used to get depressed for those long, cold, rainy, grey days we have here in Ohio frequently. Until I started getting permission to hunt for artifacts in farmers fields. those are the very best days for finding them and for fishing for steelhead.

Cross country skiing is the greatest thing ever invented. Pure joy - especially when you work at it and it becomes like a smooth flight across the snow.

It is the only time we get to glide across the earth.

Remember, it is never too cold, you are mearly underdressed.

I used to rate summer my least favorite season, and winter next. Now it's reversed. That's because I live on a ridge now, with woods to the west and an energy efficient house so summers FEEL cooler--but also I'll be 69 shortly and I find that I mind cold more than I used to but heat if anything less.
Sure, I love the sight of snowy walks, but the last two years we never got more than an inch of snow. I do enjoy the woodstove, the more so since ours has a glass window through which you can see the fire--now that's cozy. And I like heaping the porch with firewood arrayed by size, then bringing it into its spot near the door. But the excuse to not be working in the garden, that's what I like least about winter because I LOVE gardening and by March I'm strung out with longing for it. Although maple sugaring in February helps, as does starting seedlings mostly in February and March.
Someone mentioned mosquitos. We have very few here. But we do have chiggers, and the time when their season is over is a relief.

To every thing there is a season...Just like we have night and day, winter is a time of rest and reflection.  It's a time to build excitement for upcoming projects.  It's a time to eat different foods and do indoor crafts and projects.  I do enameling and the kiln is really warming to use, along with all of the pretty colors of the enamels, it it a nice contrast to the monochromatic scenery and cold temperatures of outside.  I might start a quilt and find how much more I appreciate the colors of fabric. It's the time of year where I use my sauna when I've been outside and gotten chilled to the bone.  Hearty soups and reading a good book might be the order of the day. Fresh tomatoes just don't hold the appeal they do in summer! I might find some woods to walk while listening to the insulated stillness and birds while looking for chaga and appreciating that nature is resting, too--teaching by example.

I used to dread winter because it felt so long.  Just the other day, the weatherman was talking about how soon we would reach our shortest day and then the days would start getting longer.  My reaction was, "No, not yet; I haven't gotten enough yet."  I know I will soon crave the exuberant colors and growth that spring brings; by February the snowdrops are blooming and that is the start of all the vibrant parade of life waiting to emerge.  

Winter can also be a time of worry; worry about having to drive in a storm or of power going out and heat not working, of pipes freezing and of having to go out and roof rake the snow load off or snow blow the driveway at odd hours.  Over the years, I have tried to mitigate these worries by keeping my propane stove that will work even if the power goes out, not having to go and drive into work now that I'm retired or remembering to leave a cupboard door open so as to allow heat to reach its deep recesses.  Eventually, I will add to my solar array and invest in battery backup.  This alone will help ease any worries a lot.  For now, I just enjoy the slower pace of winter and not having to feel that I should be out working from sunup to sundown.  That season will be upon us soon enough.

I realized I left out a key thing I like about winter--the sunrises, also sunsets. I live on a ridge, but in summer the sun rises in the northeast, which happens to be a place where tall trees obscure the lower sky, where the color is. The southeast sky is more open, and the trees on the distant ridge are bare, so I can see even lower...many a morning I admire the view and wonder what to call the colors I seethere are woods to my west but I can see the sunset through them when the leaves are bare. The woods partly obscure the sunset, but they also provide a sort of elegant silhouetted effect. Also, despite much more cloudiness in winter, that's when we see the best starscape, perhaps because there is less moisture in cold air so on clear nights, the Milky Way appears...

The colors of the sky cannot be beat in the winter.  Dramatic purples and pinks and oranges--the likes of which you will never see in the summer!

Barbara Simoes wrote:The colors of the sky cannot be beat in the winter.  Dramatic purples and pinks and oranges--the likes of which you will never see in the summer!

And the best thing is it's really easy to be up at sunrise!

I also like walking home from the shop in starlight. In summer our days are so long we hardly see the stars, but on a clear winter night you can get lost in them.

Traveling to warmer climates.

I long resented that my body can't take the cold anymore (though being outside year 'round as a kid was my greatest joy!), but I've come to love the chance winter brings, for time to plan my gardens & livestock increases/paddock movements for spring, anticipation of all the livestock 'littles' that will be born, time to rest, snuggle up with John & the pups in front of the big-glass-doored woodstove. It's time for comfort foods, like John's brisket chili with my cornbread, steaming bowls of oats with cinnamon, honey, & lots of butter (cooked on the woodstove, of course!), and fresh-from-the-oven sourdough (yay for finding flours I can safely eat!). Is time to curl up with a great book or ten, do some fiber arts, or finally have time to pull the fruits & veggies out of the freezers to make & can sauces and jams.

John Duffy wrote:I had to muse at good ole Mother Nature today...Here is is mid December in Southeastern Indiana and I noticed some spinach popping up in my garden. I'm guessing it it the product of the Summer crop that I let go to seed. Nature is sure durable

That reminds me that we need winter to vernalise seeds to trigger germination in those plants that need a cold snap....

We're getting a cold snap at the moment. The cold has taken the moisture out of the air so that more stars that normal are visible in our long dark nights. I swear that Orion has at least four more stars than usual in his knife tonight.

I love seeing the frost on the cars - they have been growing a coat of white fur overnight! Each vehicle turned into a work of art. I don't mind - an advantage of walking the mile to working the morning

I think I might have left one thing out of my post: winter baking. Not that I don't bake in summer--but I do more of it in winter, with more pleasure, because the heat added to the house is welcome rather than tolerated. In winter when I'm baking bread or lasagna, I pretty much always put a pan on the bottom shelf and either roast some winter squash, or sweet potatoes--which I don't have around in summer--or I bake the little potatoes and damaged sweet potatoes that are barely worth cooking, to feed my chickens.

I really enjoy Christmastime, the singing, the lights, the hopefulness, the togetherness.  After that's over the only thing I like about winter is snow, and after a few days of that I'm done and then I'm chompin' at the bit for spring to show back up.  Summertime is my favourite time of the year, because it means swimming and performing at faires.  So I tollerate wintertime, bbut live for summer.

I have been LOVING this time of year.

We woke up to the coldest day of Winter so far this year…. -12 C (about 10 F). The lake near our place is now starting to freeze much more in the shallower areas, and where the wind and waves are typically less strong.  Yesterday was one of the few days we had sunshine, so I put on the winter layers, went out for a walk, and took a few photos and videos.

These last few mornings I have been able to observe how the swans and other birds seem to all come together in the same areas. Last week I came across a tree with 6-7 long eared owls in it, but I wasnt able to get close enough to capture any photos with the camera phone before they all flew away.

With the ocassional early morning raw milk pick ups I have finally been blessed with witnessing a few Bison roaming around in the fields, but thats typically so early that there is still not quite enough light to get decent photos with a crappy camera.  One of these days ill likely have some photos to share.

Seeing the bison and family of owls felt like being in a National Geographic film in real time.

The taro, banana, yacon, and vetiver ive been keeping on the window sills are still hanging on. Certainly not thriving, but that is expected. I think they'll make it to Spring. From there it will be Outside! And into the Light!

Beautiful ice feathers Arthur! You have made some awesome photos there.
Fingers crossed for your overwintering plants. The difficult bit in my experience, is when to evict them safely. I have a seedling Canna on the windowsill and am wondering what to do about the aphids it seems to have been infected with recently....

Arthur Wierzchos wrote:I have been LOVING this time of year. !

I understand why you would love winter - beautiful pictures! I envy you for those wide landscapes without lots of cars and buildings.
(but I still prefer spring and summer, admittedly!)

I love snow!!! Winter has always been my favorite time of the year, and I've always wished for snow on my birthday. We got 2 inches of snow a few days ago, and the kids and I had a blast making snow creations, including snow chickens!

Snow chicken and snow chicks!

We also have this awesome sled that is perfect for sledding. It has very little friction and glides beautifully in the snow. We also use it for hauling fire wood, garden tools, trees to plant, and more. My 10 year old son even pulls me around in it in the snow! It's great! Here's my husband taking the kids for a sled ride in the snow.

Sled ride in the snow in the dark!

I must admit that a large reason we picked our property is because it has a nice hill to sled down, and it's further into the foothills where it gets more snow, and it's 560+ foot elevation. I love snow, so I wanted a property that gets lots of snow. I chose well! We call our property our little snow globe. Often, we'll be driving home and no where will have snow until we get to right before our private road. Sometimes, just our property has snow. Since it's shaded by trees on all sides, and it's a northfacing slope, the snow doesn't melt during the day, and so we have snow sticking around a lot longer than others.

Here's our little happy snow hill, perfect for sledding!

We sled so far and so fast down this hill!

We didn't have enough snow this year (yet) to make snowforts and snow slides, but we have had fun making snow men and all the sledding. The kids also have enjoyed making snow angels. They invided me to make some, but I just didn't feel like getting that cold and snowy (nor getting up from the ground!)

Snow angels!

I seriously love the snow, and I might just bundle up again and go sled down my hill again!