Essay #1
L. Grove
SEASONS
The national weather service has issued a warning! All counties in West Virginia are under a storm watch. It’s spring! Or is it winter, or fall or summer? We live in an area where the changing of the seasons is quite noticeable.
Each season brings with it its own colors, sounds, recreational activities, and a host of weather problems. The changing of the seasons comes gradually but sometimes it can be quite dramatic as well. I wouldn’t want to live where the changes of the seasons went unnoticed.
What season to begin with—spring, summer, winter or fall? It’s like a vicious circle. It’s like the circle of life. It really has no beginning and no end. When did it all begin? Let’s start with the vernal equinox, spring.
Spring begins when the sun crosses the equator heading north for the Tropic of Cancer. On this day, night and day are equal of length. The first signs of spring are the return of the robin singing their old familiar song. The tree frogs are awakening too. They begin hollering at night for a mate and young boy’s fancy turns to love.
As the sun begins its race across the sky heading north, the days become longer, the air warmer and, once again life begins to return to the land. Spring is a time of rebirth or renewal. The leaves have begun to grow again, the birds have begun their migration from their winter homes in the south, and the farmers have begun plowing their fields making them ready for planting and love is in the air.
Flowers begin to make their appearance giving the once drab land some color. Did you ever notice that the first flowers to appear are usually yellow—dandelions, daffodils, and forsythia? I’ve often wondered if that has any kind of significance. If you look towards the mountains, the buds on the trees make them look red. The grass is getting greener day by day and moms are beginning that yearly drudgery—spring-cleaning.
As the time passes the trees have begin to look green. The fruit trees are blossoming in colors of white or pink. Many more flowers have appeared in an array of many different colors and many of us look forward to the Easter with its colors of yellows, greens, blues, purples, oranges, and pinks. For some, Easter signifies the beginning of spring as it falls after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox.
As the sun moves further north, it begins to rise earlier and earlier each morning and sets later and later each evening bringing out joggers, fishermen and sun worshipers. With the warmth of the season everyone comes out from their winter cocoons to enjoy the many activities they haven’t been able to do during those long winter months. There are bike riders, hikers and kids at play. There is spring turkey hunting for the die-hard hunter and baseball season, America’s favorite pass time, has gotten under way. Boaters are getting their boats out of storage and campers are polishing their campers getting ready for another season of fun in the sun.
The weather is turbulent to say the least. One week it is warm the next cold. One day it rains, then the next it snows; and the wind blows. Some days it rains, snows, sleets and then the sun shines all in the same day. Old Man Winter doesn’t want to give up his grip. Fortunately, we all know that there is the promise of warmer days just ahead.
Each passing day brings the sun farther and farther north. Warm southerly breezes blow as the weather makes the transition from winter to spring. Then, at the drop of hat, the north winds howls and boom! Snow, wind, rain, sleet, we get it all. The only good thing is that we know spring is just around the corner.
This is also the season of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. The warm moist air from the south clashes with the cold dry air from the north and you guessed it, storm warnings—severe thunderstorms, high winds, heavy rains, hail and now there is the possibility of tornadoes. Somehow we usually manage to get through his turbulent period all looking forward to the lazy, hazy days of summer.
Summer begins with the summer solstice. The sun has reached its northern most point and it is the longest day of the year. It is said that whatever is dreamed on this night will come to pass. Shakespeare acknowledged the magic of this time in” A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” On this day we have more daylight hours than any other day and now sadly the sun will begin its trek back across the sky headed south for the equator.
The sun is in full dominance in the summer. With the warmth of the season caressing the land, it is time to enjoy summer: picnics, vacations, swimming, hiking, boating, and many, many more outdoor activities. These days are usually hazy, hot and humid. The nights are warm and the mosquitoes and other bugs and insects are out in full force. At night the crickets have begun their never ending cries and the fireflies blink like twinkling stars. The mountains are lush and green and wild flowers are in bloom everywhere. White daisies, orange butterfly bushes, blue straw flowers, and a host of others of various colors making the landscape beautiful. But wait! What is that on the horizon? Clouds are looming black and ominous!
The summer too has its share of thunderstorms although they may not occur as often and the severe warnings don’t seem to be given as frequently as in the spring because now the cold air of the north has retreated, lying in wait for the next change of the seasons. However, now there is a new threat, hurricanes.
Hurricanes that affect us are born in the warm waters of the equator off the coast of Africa. They gain energy from these warm waters and traveling west across the Atlantic. The warmer the water the stronger the hurricane. Tornadoes occur because of the differences in air temperatures. Hurricanes occur because of the differences in water temperature. Hurricane season begins June 1 and ends November 1.
The days begin to grow shorter, the nights are getting cooler as the sun moves across the sky wanting to cross the equator. Those lazy, hazy days of summer are coming to an end. The katy-dids fill the nights with their racket and the crickets are still chirping day and night without stop. The sky clears of the summer humidity and becomes a deep blue. The days are quieter now without the songs from the birds that have gone to warmer places. The flowers begin to die and the lack of day light makes the leaves start to change color.
The Autumnal Equinox occurs when the sun crosses over the equator heading for its southern most point—the Tropic of Capricorn. Again on this day we have equal hours of light and dark—day and night. It’s time to finish the harvest of crops from the summer’s growing period. The days are shorter now not much time before the darkness of winter is here. The katy-dids and the crickets are still making themselves known in the warmth of he afternoons but on cold nights they don’t have much to say.
School has begun again and everyone begins to get into a routine. Football season is in full swing and baseball comes to an end. People are still hiking, biking and fishing. Its time for hay rides and trick or treat. Hunting season has begun. The chill in the air has prompted squirrels and chipmunks to gather nuts and acorns for the winter. Bears and woodchucks are looking for warm places to keep snug for their winter’s sleep. The leaves are no longer green but have all turned their hues of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. The earth is getting ready to rest.
The heat from the summer usually lasts into September but the nights grow colder and colder. First there are frosts, then its time to bring in the pumpkins because it freezes. The leaves come down like rain with every breeze. Even now the days are cold. There aren’t any many sounds during the day or in the night. There are some birds left, only those brave enough toe winter birds are left. Soon it will be Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday that ends the growing season, a celebration of the bountiful harvest.
The trees are bare now standing naked waiting to be covered with that first snow fall. Hurricane season is over and the threat of thunderstorms has all but disappeared with the absence of the humidity. We have periods of dry weather and then periods of rainy weather. We all know that “Old Man Winter” is lurking just waiting to strike.
The Winter Solstice begins when the sun reaches its southern most point—the Tropic of Capricorn. This is the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours or rather it’s the longest night of the year. Everything is asleep waiting to be awakened. The only sounds you hear are the echoes from seasons past. Christmas and New Years brighten the beginning of winter.
We all wish for a white Christmas then want it to go away but it doesn’t. Skiers and snow boarders wish for snow, snow, snow, and more snow! Football season is coming to a close but for those sports enthusiast basketball, hockey, wrestling and bowling are starting up. Hunting season ends as well. There’s not much to do but sit by the fire, sip cocoa, read, and dream of the seasons to come.
Winter weather is very unpredictable in our area. It changes from hour to hour, day to day and even year to year. Some times we have major snowstorms and sometimes not. Maybe this will be the year to end all years in terms of snowstorms.
I can’t imagine living in an area where the changing of the seasons goes unnoticed. I am ready for each new season to begin and the old one to end.