Reflection on the First Week of Winter

      Winter arrived on the calendar, but winter weather didn't. The average temperature for the first week of winter at Wells Wood is 35°. This year we averaged 55°. In the past sixty-seven years, I remember an occasional warm day in December–like the Christmas evening in Pittsburgh when I walked out onto the grass with only a sweater over my indoor clothes. But a whole week of warm days? Is climate change making a wacky swing from last year's bitter cold?

      The first day of winter was 63°. Spence, in a short sleeved T-shirt, and I, in a light jacket, walked through the woods. Our feet smooshed wet leaves and cracked twigs. Dark green ferns, bright red partridge berries, and light green skunk cabbages decorated the leaf covered ground. Blue jays squawked. Deer Creek rushed mud brown just below the top of its banks. Wet weather ponds and streams dotted the flood plain. When we got back to the log house, Spence reached for a cold can of carbonated water rather than a hot cup of coffee to warm his hands.

      Christmas Eve Day was clear and balmy. At the YMCA, the water glowed with sunshine. Life guard Bailey opened the windows and pulled a chair to the edge of the pool. In short shorts and sunglasses, she plopped into the chair then threw her arms and legs wide as if she were sun bathing.

      Back at Wells Wood Spence harvested bok choy. Though earlier frosts had softened the stems,fresh leaves grew and flowers bloomed. Honeybees gathered pollen from the bok choy and bolting chickweed.

     This morning rain pelted Wells Wood. After thunder and lightning stopped, Spence and I sloshed under umbrellas to explore the submerged flood plain. What if all that rain had been snow?

    Though the weather has been entertaining, it's also been unsettling. When will the temperatures turn cold enough to hang bird feeders without luring bears onto the deck? Will birds wait for us or find another food source? I'm not alone in wondering. Spencer's friend Roldo Bartimole sent this holiday greeting: “Hope you enjoy the holidays and the weather even though it means disaster in the long run.”