December is summation of all the years’ completions. The month is like an older woman with starlight frosting her hair and snowflakes brushing her cheeks. A holly sprig tucked in her hair tells one that she is as young as the morning, and the look in her eye says she is as old as time.
December is bare tree limbs and lacy green evergreens. It is rustling flower stems in the garden and ruthless wind whipping over the mountain. It is seedling maples from two years ago clinging to a stray leaf of two.
It is stiff tailed half grown squirrels scrambling up a giant oak tree. It is mask-faced coon in a moonlit garden feasting on what is left of the corn. They listen for the hounds.
It is ice in the creek and moss covered rocks.
December is flocks of chickadees through the night.
December brings frost to the mountains like cake icing.
It is the Winter solstice, bringing the shortest day of the year.
December is a hungry owl and a rabbit on the run. The groundhog has already sought its winter bed, and the crows are recongregated proclaiming their presence loudly at the first crack of dawn.
It is winter wrens singing at first light, greeting dawn with melodious song.
The spectacular colors of fall now litter the forst floor. The quiet tones of winter dominate the landscape now.
Occasionally there is an accent of winter berries.
December is one of the short months. It doesn’t have 31 days such as they are. The Thanksgiving turkey has vanished, and then there is the Christmas tree waiting to be trimmed, and then New Year’s Day is knocking on the door, announcing the start of a new year.
December has only 288 hours of daylight. That is counting even the overcast days with the sun sulks behind masses of clouds. A December day is nine hours of daylight with just a few minutes left over morning and night. Then there is 15 hours of darkness.
It is approaching chickadee weather in the mountains. They enjoy cold nights, chilly days, and a bit of flying snow, and they will flock to your feeders. They are jaunty little beggars willing to pay for their handouts with hours of antics and entertainment. A full grown chickadee rarely weighs more than a half an ounce. Inside the feather covered tiny body is a heart that beats some 700 times a minute. On a cold day it must consume enough food to equal its own weight to keep its inner fire burning. Chickadees enjoy a generous helping of sunflower seeds.
Keep the water containers filled with fresh water, and be generous with your feathered friends.
May you always hear the whisper of wings.
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