Okay, people, stop your whining about how c-c-c-c-cold it is and the snow…

So…I thought I’d list the benefits of Winter:

–The snow is ESSENTIAL for us not to have a drought.  A biology teacher once said that we needed at least two feet of snow each winter to avoid having a drought.  With the climate change weird weather, I would up that to three feet of snow.  Right now, we’ve almost gotten that, so we’re looking pretty good for next summer.

–The freezing weather kills a lot of bugs.

–Playing in the snow is fun.  The beauty is phenomenal.

–After a winter is through, we can appreciate Spring and warmer weather.  Would we appreciate it as much if we didn’t have the colder weather?

–Winter isn’t for sissies.  Like the butterfly struggling out of its cocoon, the struggle makes one stronger.

–The winter allows the plants to “sleep” and rest.  The snow protects the roots from the severe cold.  I dislike the “bad” part of this post, because it is always from a human’s perspective, instead of all of nature.  The broken branches or dead trees serve as homes to creatures, or as a base for other living plants that use the decaying matter as food.

Here’s a neat video with an amazing dead tree hosting several plants:

And here is a video on life beginning again after a devastating wildfire.

Related to the trees, I found this video on saving acorn seeds for planting:

(As a side note~ I just have to say that I’m digging the hairy arms.  I don’t know how it all got started, but men shaving their arms and chests bare is a turn off.  )

Also related to winter, I came across this ecotraction substitute to winter salting on roads.  Great idea.  I heard that they were using beet juice now in salt mixtures for the roads, and at first I thought that was better than the destructive effects of salt, but then I thought…they’re using food when people are hungry…yeah, can’t support that.  Beets are especially good for their detoxing effects.