Winter Praise

As the snow melts away on the second event of winter 2017-2018, I still have the warmest regards for the winter season in Georgia. I'm going to list some of the reasons why that is true for me. With each reason, I will include a link to a blog I've written previously about it.

If it were not for the winter season: 

I would not have the beautiful silhouettes of deciduous trees like oaks (Quercus) and hickories (Carya) to admire. Their bare branches and the shape of the trees really are elegant when the leaves fall.

I might not take the time to appreciate the rosettes of evergreen perennials and be grateful for their consistent presence. It's also a good time to notice the weedy bittercress and pull it up before it flowers and sets seed.

Without the bare plant branches, the bounty of the season’s seeds and the birds’ enjoyment of them might not be so noticeable. The puffy groups of seeds are part of the winter beauty.

Frankly, I get more reading done during the winter because I'm not outside as much. So it's a good time to learn more. Peruse this 4th blog of mine about books; links to the previous 3 blogs are inside it. Need something new? I'm currently reading a thick new Georgia mushroom book and I've got the new southeastern moth book on order.

Don't want to stay inside? Winter is a perfect time to tackle many of our evergreen winter weeds like privet, mahonia, nandina, elaeagnus, Japanese honeysuckle, and others. They stand out like a sore thumb in winter.

Or brush up on your winter woody plant identification skills. The clues are all there - you just need to solve the puzzles.

Winter doesn't seem to last forever in Georgia. Yesterday's high of 61 degrees took care of the remaining snow and I'm sure that spring is right around the corner. Enjoy winter while you can.