An icy, snowy desert
As arctic winds roar south over Manitou Mountain (my nickname for our Overlook), coursing down through frozen mountainside quarries, bending low milkweed and monarda — their sere, dried flower-husks scraping patterns in the crystalline snow of the Woodstock Valley — deep winter comes to Waghkonk. Animals large and small, some with claws and some with paws, cast far and wide for a desperate meal, their stories told in fast-fading traces on wind-blown white, like lost memories past, as some live and some don’t. Others, maybe taking a simpler path, slow down their world and wait for the green. “Got us a real, old-time Catskills winter,” an old-timer might say, or even someone walking down Tinker Street, tightly holding hat to head. Many beeches and some oaks have tried to keep their last-season’s dried leaves on their otherwise bare branches but seem to be losing that battle to the polar jet. Snow that wasn’t frozen is being piled into gleaming, sometimes corniced, snow-dunes, reminding us once again how much a northeast winter landscape can be like an icy, snowy desert, which — like most deserts — always harbor hidden life, however dormant and half-frozen. Some small (and not-so-small) insects and mammals half-hibernate and hide under bark and leaf, as well as carefully chosen overhangs and hollow logs, waiting for warmth. I guess we’re not all that different and this winter many local humans might be happy to replicate their strategies.
Seasonal rollercoaster
It’s true. Our seasonal rollercoaster continues — a few days mild and dry, a few days cold and snowy. As usual, these back-and-forth conditions lead to a freeze-thaw cycle — everything that thawed today might be ice tomorrow. This might be good for the coming maple sugaring season, but stepping wrong on ice is definitely hazardous (in particular, watch for patches of ice covered by snow). Please use some form of ice-gripper wherever you think it might be icy and if you can’t avoid walking there (I recommend either low impact YakTrax for rooty, rocky trails in the Valley or Kahtoolahs for more serious trails in the hills). Trekking-poles can be a big help, too. Drivers have to be extra careful at night to look for black ice — re-freezing water from snow-melt on roads — and slow down accordingly. Also very important — clear all snow from your car so it doesn’t blow back on the car behind you. It’s very dangerous and actually illegal to not do so.
Halfway to spring
We are at the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The Celts celebrated this time as Imbolc (February 1-2), the year’s First Cross-Quarter Day. It is a time for celebrating the visible lengthening of days. It’s also celebrated as Groundhogs Day or Candlemas. The Mayans noted this moment on the Great Wheel as did Native Americans at Cahokia and at Anasazi. This time was also appropriately called the Hunger Moon (many creatures went hungry now — including people), as well as the Bear Moon because it was when Black Bear cubs were born.
“Ranger” Dave Holden / 845-594-4863 / woodstocktrails@gmail.com / Dave Holden at Facebook / rangerdaveholden on Instagram / woodstocknytrails.com / For the full length version of this article, please visit my blog at the above website.
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