I live in the mid-Atlantic region where the winters have been so mild over the last few years that a reasonably hard winter comes as something of a shock. This year's winter has been reminiscent of the winters of the 1950's that I grew up with in New England.
In those days, it was not unusual for snow to be on the ground for weeks on end. Temperatures would get so cold that the manual transmission grease would thicken into an unmovable glob inside the gearbox. If you were forgetful enough to leave it in gear when you parked the car the night before then you had to sit there with your foot on the clutch until the engine warmed the grease sufficiently to allow you to put it in neutral.
What I loved best was how quiet it was. Snow seems to absorb sound, allowing us to experience the primeval silence that existed before the machine age, a silence broken only by the sounds of nature, be it the gentle burbling of a stream freshly quickened by melting snow or the harsh screech of a blue jay that carries with it the hint of dangers unseen.
Winter is a season that has teeth. Winter thins the herd. It kills off the germs and the weeds, and it will kill you too if you get give it half a chance. But that cleansing sets the stage for a new season of growth.
You often hear people jokingly say that global warming is a good thing if it brings with it milder winters. But within each gain there is loss. The sharp elbows of winter keep us on our toes, puts nature right in our faces. If the science of climate change is correct then we will need to be on our toes. We will need to be heedful of the natural world.
Winter may be harsh teacher, but mankind is still at a point where some lessons must be learned the hard way. I fear that climate change is one of them.
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