It's Alive, Even in Winter

It’s a nice surprise when we get to stay home from school or work for a day. But the surprise isn’t so nice when our busy lives get interrupted by slushy roads and long lines at the grocery store. We have already had more than our share of weather surprises this winter in the lower Hudson Valley.

Lately I have been noticing the way I react to these unpredictable days of winter weather. I remember as a child thinking that a snow day was the best thing in the world, and looking with awe as the shining sun made snow sparkle like a blanket of diamonds. I remember picking up handfuls of white fluff (making sure to avoid the yellow) and feeling the cold snow melt instantly on my tongue.  

As an adult, these feelings of awe and excitement are often overshadowed by my ‘have-to’ moments. I have to go to work, take care of others, get my to-do list done, and on and on.  It can be frustrating when weather shuts down my plans. It even seems like nature itself has shut down. Ice replaces leaves on trees, the days are shorter and the animals have retreated to their winter havens.   

The other day I decided to put aside my to-do list in favor of a snowshoe hike at Teatown Lake Reservation, the nature preserve where I work as an Environmental Educator and Volunteer Coordinator. As I stopped to catch my breath, my attention went to the ‘tap-tap-tap’ of a woodpecker mining for insects on a rotting tree nearby. While listening, I noticed a small songbird called a white-breasted nuthatch shimmying down a tree, looking for seeds it had cached in the bark.  And looking around, I could see areas of snow that had been overturned by hungry deer looking for remnants of nuts, buds and roots in the ground. In that brief moment I was reminded that nothing around me had shut down. Perhaps it was me who had shut down.

In my haste to finish my to-do list, had I temporarily lost my own sense of aliveness? Even nature knows that it takes more than just a couple lungs and a heart to be alive. It takes the spirit of adaptability, appreciation and persistence. The same spirit that is alive in a little field mouse who, after having its meadow-grass home covered over with a foot of snow, uses the snow to dig a system of insulated tunnels to use for hidden travel and shelter. And the same spirit that was in me when I was a kid, making the best out of the snow by taking a bite out of my homemade snow-cone.

 At the end of my hike I made sure to take a big chomp out of a handful of clean snow, happy to feel alive again.

 Tips for Staying Alive: There are a lot of places in our area to get out and explore this winter. Great places to snowshoe include Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, and Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining. Fahnestock Winter Park in Cold Spring rents snowshoes and cross-country skis for its groomed winter trails.   

When you are out there, remember to stay alive by wearing the right clothing. At the minimum, you should wear an underlayer, snow pants or gaiters with winter boots, a good winter coat, hat and gloves. Avoid wearing cotton. Once cotton gets wet, it wicks moisture towards your body and increases your risk for hypothermia. Waterproof or moisture-wicking fabric such as wool, polyester, or nylon will ensure that you are able to have a comfortable and fun hike.