On days like these, with snow falling and afternoon temperatures hovering near zero degrees F, it is easy to believe that nature has shut down. Barren trees and freeze-dried plants dominate the landscape and hardy birds and mammals appear to be the only survivors. Compared with the abundant and explosive life of late spring and summer, death and decay seem to dominate the season.
But in the trees, beneath the leaf litter, within the soil and in the bottom muck of ponds, a myriad of life forms await the spring. The eggs and larvae of invertebrates, the bulbs, seeds and rootlets of plants, the networks of fungi and the hibernating hordes of amphibians, reptiles and mammals are very much alive.
Of course, birds and some mammals depend on this hidden life to fuel their own winter survival. We humans, relying on the convenience of grocery stores, too often fail to notice.
