Winter Solstice 2024—Wanting Winter

           The snow is again late in coming this year here in Salt Lake City, and I find myself truly wanting some real winter to appear. I probably would feel differently if I lived downwind from the Great Lakes and six foot snow drifts covered my driveway!
         But snow and cold are so essential in the hills and mountains because they provide so many critical functions to our natural ecosystems. Not only does the snow insulate many roots and plants, but it protects countless hibernating animals. Then when it melts in spring, the aquifers and rivers and lakes are all recharged, the flowers grow, and the forest flourishes. Furthermore, the bitter cold days and nights from a classic winter in the mountains provide a cleansing of insects from the great forests.  It’s as if the trees get to take a cold shower to remove all pests from their buds and bark and limbs.
         For humans who live in seasonal climates, winter not only brings joys like sledding, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding, but it also brings beauty and balance to our lives. Whether it be the susurrant murmur of falling snow during near silent moments in the trees or the crystalline diamonds glistening in the slanted low angle sun on fresh powder, there are countless moments of pure clear clean beauty in winter settings. One of my favorites is the bright phosphorescence of snowflakes falling on a snowy night that makes the whole world glow as if bathed in moonlight. And whether it be the biting cold and bitter wind or the blue and white ice and drifts almost too deep to shovel, there are other manty winter moments that make us appreciate the coming spring and summer so much more passionately.
         And so on this Solstice a quarter of the way into the 21st Century, I wait longingly for a winter just like the ones I used to know as a child growing up in Colorado.