Winter’s Coming Home

For me, the first sign of winter is the return of the cedar wax wings to the flowering crab apple tree on the south side of our house. They always show up this time of the year in large and small flocks to eat the little crab apple fruit. They flit and dance from branch to branch gobbling up the fruit.

When the sun is just right, I catch a glimpse of the little yellow spots on their wing tips which people think of as the “wax”. The two times I have seen them in the last week, it has been more grey and misty rather than sunny and clear  so I have missed seeing their wing tips. Still, it is a signal that winter is coming.

The second sign is when I start humming to myself the song “Winter’s Coming Home” which is sung by the monks of Weston Priory in Weston, Vermont. The opening verse goes like so:

Summer’s gone

Leaves are falling down and round

My window,

Crystal clear and certain,

That winter’s coming home.

Ah, yes again,

The mellow sun is cooler, days are short

And nights are longer by the fire

Of brothers’ love;

The evening speaks of hearts together now

That harvest’s done

And gone to rest, for winter’s coming home.

Before all the traditional Christmas songs and hymns burst forth into our home and hearts, this is the song that shows up in my consciousness and reminds me that there is a reason for this season, and I need to take time to remember it in the midst of my busy days.

The third sign of winter’s return is seeing the land covered with a thick frost just before the sun breaks the eastern horizon. The grass looks like it has been dusted with a light grey color in the early morning light. I know it will sparkle and quickly melt once the sun breaks through the morning clouds. Still, it is a reminder that this is the time to look for the miracles that take place each day.

Finally, the fourth sign is what is happening in the many perennial flower beds around our home. The brown leaves from the maple trees and the oak tree out front have settled in and around the perennial flowers. When I pause to enjoy their beauty, I realize that there are so many different colors of brown. Some places like the stalks of the sedum Autumn Joy display a reddish brown while the Siberian iris show a lighter color. The hostas have melted, for the lack of a better termed, and what remains is a more yellowish brown. So much to notice if one pauses and enjoys the stillness of the early morning.

And in and amongst all these leaves, plants are sleeping for lack of a better term. They are putting down roots until the ground is frozen solid. Then, they hibernate until the first signs of spring return to the prairie. And when spring returns with great joy, the land wakes up and remembers the sounds, the colors and shapes of summer. It is this fourth sign that reminds me of the importance of rest and rejuvenation.

Winter’s coming. I hope you keep your eyes open and witness the daily miracles it brings. I also hope it fills your heart with joy. Now is the time for rest, gratitude and renewed hope that better days are coming.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257