I woke up to another impossibly cold morning. The sky was clear allowing me to see a brilliant full moon still hovering through the trees in the western sky just about to disappear before sunrise.
I checked the temperature….-6 degrees. I then checked the calendar…finally January was over. Seriously how could January last so long, it feels like eons ago that we were celebrating the new year. News years resolutions have long since been abandoned, buried under the weight of expectations that far exceeded reality. Of course the everlasting darkness, bone chilling cold and snowstorms that cover half the country adds to the seemingly interminable length of January.
Does time move more slowly in the cold ? Why is it that the first month of a new year is the longest and coldest ? I’ve often wondered if the New Year happened in the summer if more people would be able to keep their resolutions with the warmer weather and extra daylight giving extra motivation. Most resolutions revolve around weight loss or eating less which are far easier to accomplish in the warm months of summer.
I scrolled through some news when I saw an intriguing headline that I thought couldn’t possibly be true. I double checked it to make sure it wasn’t a headline from The Onion ( something I’ve found myself doing more often lately ) and it definitely seemed to come from a legitimate news source. I read the story, watched a video and became aware that trees are exploding.
Evidently this phenomenon occurs in extreme cold during the winter months. Extreme cold being what most of us are experiencing the last few weeks, this definitely feels like Mother Nature pushing back at us. Snow, ice, cold, those aren’t enough, now she’s adding exploding trees.
I don’t know if this week it’s a polar vortex or bomb cyclone but it’s extreme. Have you noticed that the meteorologist seem to be coming up with new names for weather events ? I sometimes think it’s some desperate attempt to feel more important and grab yet more attention for weather. Nevertheless trees are exploding in northern climates as water freezes inside them and explodes in extreme cold.
I wonder if it’s been determined what the temperature range needs to be for trees to explode ? Our extreme cold in the mid-west has led to frozen pipes, icy roads, dead car batteries, frozen car locks, mountains of snow and at least for me a garage door that opens with a shudder that seems to say “are you kidding me” each time I open it.
Since the sun is shining I still plan to take advantage of a nice day, even if the amount of layers I’ll be wearing takes me longer to dress and undress. I’ll go hiking in the woods, enjoying nature, the snow covered trail and the trees surrounding me, as long as none of them start exploding.
Peace and love,
John
John's Blog 