By Darcy Thomas
I love winter. I love winter for its snow. It is such a beautiful time of year when snow covers the mountains. Winter sunsets are breathtaking as alpenglow washes over the landscape. Hoar frost changes nature into crystalline beauty. Sunny days cast an illusion of diamonds glinting in the snow. Children laugh and scream as they zoom down hills on sleds. Gliding through the snow on cross-country skis with the hush of snow enveloping the landscape is invigorating and peaceful at the same time. I even enjoy snow shoveling – up to a point! Winter can be a cozy time of year. A time to settle into an overstuffed chair by a fire, read a good book and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate with a splash of Mountain Mint.
Best of all, winter means feeding the birds and enjoying close-up views of them as they nab sunflower seeds, taking them to a nearby perch to crack them open. Woodpeckers are especially enjoyable to watch, pecking away at suet while balancing with rigid tails. Juncos and chickadees feed in a frenzy to keep warm. Birds turn into little puffballs with their feathers fluffed up.
Yet, as much as I love winter it is wonderful to watch the landscape shake off the grip of ice and snow. Water begins to open. The drip, drip, drip of snow melting off the roof stirs dreams of planting a garden and watching green things bud and bloom.
March is the very beginning of the awakening of nature. By the end of the month snow geese migrate in huge numbers, stopping at Freezout Lake to rest and feed. I hope you are planning to join Bob Lee on his Snow Goose Migration field trip to watch the spectacle of geese rising from the ponds at dawn. (For details click here.) Closer to home pintails leave for their breeding grounds while wigeons, redheads, teals and other waterfowl return to the valley in big numbers. Church Slough is a great place to practice your identification skills and watch breeding displays. I hope you like the color blue because Mountain Bluebirds return in March. Watch for them along the roadways. Pretty soon the landscape will be green and the yearning to get outdoors will consume you. Put on your muck boots and don’t take them off! Have fun!