The time of year in my feelings is the reflection of what I see. The changes in the landscape produce changes in my mind.
The Earth’s fluctuating relationship to the Sun may technically cause the approach of winter, but it is the bare trees and the frost that make that season in my head.
Very literally, snowdrops and snow trilliums, singing cardinals and doves, bring February to my brain. Robinsong before sunrise and blooming crocuses and daffodils brings March.
Fragrant peonies and lilacs make April and May. Green trees and daisies bring June. Lilies evoke July. Black-eyed Susans and purple asters shape the middle of August. Goldenrod and mums create September, scarlet maples and golden tulip trees bring October. November is the sudden collapse of leaves and the opening of the forest canopy. Frost and snow and the call of the sandhill cranes mean winter.
The simplicity of this psychological phenomenon leads me to a basic realism. Through my experience with the seasons, I recognize the fragility of my awareness and the limitations of my senses. What I see is what I get.
This is Bill Felker with Poor Will’s Miami Valley Almanack. I’ll be back again next week with notes for the transition week to Early Spring. In the meantime, don't forget to look: what you see is what you get.
