On the Wild Side

Wow, you talk about a Missouri winter. The last day of 2010 was warm and spring-like, almost 70 degrees here in Randolph county. Don’t get too comfortable with the nice temps, by nine or so that evening it was 17. Hey, we live in Missouri, that is the way the weather goes here. As I sat in my easy chair New Year’s Day, I looked out on the meadow that stretches to the west of the house. The sky was that intense blue that you only see in the winter, almost completely devoid of any water vapor, crystal clear, deep blue/black sky. The meadow, brown from winter chill, reflected the bright January sun. I watched our neighborhood birds cleaning up the dog food. Two red-headed woodpeckers, a couple of bluebirds and too many starlings to count were all busy grabbing pieces of dog food from the dog pen. Then with the skill learned at the Morales banquet and buffet palace, they flew to the trunk of a nearby ash tree to ‘crunch’ the morsel against the tree before eating the resultant crumbs made by their striking the food against the tree. But spring is on the way, to paraphrase the English poet Shelley; “…O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”* . I noticed the other evening while delivering the Mirror on the east side of the county, that even though it was after five o’clock it was still light. It had only been in early December that it was pitch black by 5:30. It always amazes me how quickly the sun seems to begin its return to the northern climes. By the middle of this month you will notice that both in the morning and the evening it is getting lighter sooner and staying lighter longer. Speaking of darkness, now is the time to go out and get a glimpse of some of the most spectacular constellations that are now in the winter sky. Orion, Canus major, Cassiopeia, Ursa major, Ursa minor, the Pleiades, plus Mars, Jupiter, Venus and many super bright stars. All of these are most spectacularly visible due to the super low humidity and lack of agriculturally produced dust. Even in the most intense months of winter, there are many things going on, in parts of the county towards the end of this month, witch hazel will begin to bloom. Yup, they really do bloom in the middle of winter. This is what gave rise to the mystical power of the plant, actually a low shrub. It was found that witch hazel contains a chemical that causes minor cuts and scratches to stop bleeding, a mild astringent that also doubled as a mild disinfectant. Herbalist, medicine men/women, midwives and people of the woods found that this property of the plant was very valuable to the saving of lives, especially when it came to childbirth and other serious medical conditions. I hope you look upon a winter day in a different light now, there is always something to learn, even in some of the seemingly lifeless times out here on the wildside.

* Ode to the West Wind by Percy Bysshe Shelley