For the first time this season, winter has poked a finger into central Missouri; this morning, the temperature hovered just below 32 degrees F. While this first freeze is about two weeks late, it is a significant event nonetheless, ushering in the dark, quiet season. The winter solstice is still two months away and we'll surely have plenty of mild, sunny weather in the coming weeks but the first jab of winter lets us know that the tide of the seasons has turned.
This morning's freeze will permanently silence many of our insects and send others to the shelter of leaf mulch and basements; some will emerge in the mild days ahead but, slowed by the autumn chill, they will be easy targets for the birds, reptiles and small mammals that continue to prepare for the depths of winter. For humans, it is an opportunity to test the furnace, stoke the fireplace and, of course, complain about the weather.
Some dread the chilly days and frigid nights that lie ahead and, like certain mammalian neighbors, will hibernate until spring invades the Heartland. But many of us are invigorated by the cold weather and look forward to the snowy days and star-filled nights. We are inspired by the hooting of owls, we relish the scent of wood smoke and we long to tramp through the peaceful, bugless landscape of winter.
