An early morning trip north, yielded a few surprises – It can snow in May in MN! Ice pellets and snow flakes dotted the semi blue and grey sky above the tallest of the pine trees. Meanwhile, our clothing was being attacked by deer and wood ticks. We recorded the first snow fall in October and now May marks the 8th month we have had some snow.

As I have gotten a few years older, my favorite season has shifted from fall to winter, much to the dismay of everyone else who reminds me that summer is slowly becoming a season of two months.

Winter is the season of awareness. It is when everything becomes brighter, and the true self and being emerge or are revealed. It is the season where we turn inward, to look for warmth and comfort within. We become more aware, with sharper senses, we see the outlines of trees against the blue backgrounds; we see the moose tracks carrying further and deeper into the woods; we realize the quite solitude of mountain peaks overlooking valleys and the distant howl of coyote or the growl of a circling raven.

Winter reveals more of the delicate balance of animals, vegetation, humans, and role each of us play. Survival instincts become second-nature, and beings rely more on themselves to emerge on the other side of the mountain pass.