The frozen ponds can be heard crackling and grinding.

The footprints in the snow reveal that weasels, rabbits, foxes and deer are out in search of food. The woodpeckers hurry from tree to tree in search of eggs and larvae that lie dormant in the fissures of the bark or sealed in their silken cocoons. When standing quietly in the woods or in the backyard, one can hear the tiny chickadees chirping away as they probe for seeds and insects. The insects are stilled by the cold.īut above and beneath the blanket of snow there is life. The geese, ducks and warblers have long since left the naked shrubs and trees in their southward search for sun and warmth. The once-noisy chipmunks and groundhogs lie quietly curled in their snug burrows, asleep until warmer weather comes. They may tell you that winter is “fun,” “a wonderful time of the year,” despite its hardships.īut the wonders of winter do not end with play and relaxation. Ask the children shaping a snowman, or the young folks skating on frozen ponds, or the adults skiing down powderlike slopes, or grandfather reading a book next to a blazing fireplace. With this in mind one could say, “What’s so wonderful about the wintertime?”īut winter is not all bad, is it? Ask almost any child tumbling in the snow what he thinks of wintertime. Winter often reminds one of whining car wheels caught in slippery ruts, of grinding engines that are slow to respond in sub-zero temperatures, of the hurried pace through slush and sleet, of freezing fingers, ears and feet. MUCH could be said about the inconveniences of winter in the northern latitudes, of the cold and ice, of the frost and snow that threaten man and other creatures with hardship and hunger.

Winter wonders online