A Winter Nature Break
Here in Pennsylvania, we experience all four seasons. That comes with some beautiful benefits and yearly debates about the pros and cons of being a summer versus a winter person. Winter in the garden is a period of rest and renewal. It is a good reminder that we all have a season for growing and activity, but also that even nature builds in time for stillness. For those of us who are energized by the warm days of summer, by the taste of a fresh tomato, and the breeze through the trees, this can be a long and sometimes difficult season. It’s still very important for us to get outside, even if the weather isn’t the kindest.
Here, I want to provide a short checklist of things to look and listen for as you take a winter walk. This can be done for yourself or with friends and family, through your neighborhood, in your yard, or in a park. Make sure you bundle up appropriately. Plan to only use your phone for reference to this list. Otherwise leave all your sense available to engage in nature.
Look for Footprints in the Snow or Mud:
While many of our local wildlife is sleeping or have migrated south, some animals are still active in the winter. Relying on scarcer resources, you’ll often find evidence of them searching the soil for seeds and insects. You may even find evidence of predators looking for mice and other small prey under the snow.
Alternatively, look for patterns made by falling leaves, disturbed ice, or other objects.
- What animals make these tracks? What might they be looking for? Can you see them now? Can you hear any calls?
- What caused that impression?
Find Seedpods Still Clinging to Plants:
While it’s common for gardeners to cut back their perennials or remove spent flowers and seeds in the fall, many plants naturally retain them over winter. These materials are used as food and nesting material for nearby animals. While the plant might not look like much, you may be able to tell what it is based on what’s left standing.
- What plants still have their seeds or flowers attached? Is there any evidence of animals foraging for them? What do the seedheads feel like?
Find Patterns in the Ice:
While snow may be less common than it used to be, finding winter frost patterns is still very common in our area. How ice and frost forms on different surfaces is a fascinating study in the forms of nature. One of my favorite formations is when the rain freezes on the leaves of branches, forming clear cases of ice around each unique shape.
- How does the frost look on the leaves versus the grass? What patterns can you find on windows?
Admire the Branches and Bark:
Leaves often mask the beauty in the architecture of our trees. Winter gives us a chance to focus on the unique aspects of our trees’ bark and branch structure. Some trees like birches, paperbark maples, and crape myrtles have interesting peeling bark. Others, like the red-twig dogwood and coral-bark maple show their best colors in the winter, popping against the browns and whites of the winter scene.
Alternatively, look up! I have a sycamore and black walnut that branches out over my yard. In the spring, it’s difficult to parse which tree is which. In the winter, I like to look up through the labyrinth of branches to sort out the grays of the sycamore from the browns of the walnut. I like to look at the gaps and imagine the paths that squirrels use to navigate the world high above me. Sometimes I find nests in the branches that were otherwise hidden.
- What shapes do you see in the branches? What patterns can you see in how the branches separate?
Listen to the Difference in the Wind:
The summer wind sounds like the ocean to me as the dense leaves of the forest flutter against each other in a soft rush. In the winter, the sound of the branches moving dominates the soundscape.
- What else do you hear? Does the wind sound different in areas with different kinds of plants? How does the wind feel on your cheeks?
I hope this list helped you reframe your mindset.
