The Shortest Day And so the Shortest Day came and the year died And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world Came people singing, dancing, To drive the dark away. They lighted candles in the winter trees; They hung their homes with evergreen; They burned beseeching fires all night long To keep the year … More Winter Solstice
Winter is a season of recovery and preparation. –Paul Theroux I have spent the last few weeks organizing, cataloging, writing, thinking, planning, strategizing, and coordinating. Although not technically winter, this is the season for many temperate climate field biologists to hunker down to think, ruminate, analyze. We look out our office window and wish we could … More Recover and Prepare
The bald eagle population in Oklahoma is soaring, not just with the seasonal influx of the wintering eagles, but the number of breeding pairs continues to rise each year. When the bald eagle was added to the federal list of endangered species in Oklahoma in 1978, there were no breeding eagles in our state and … More Eagles are Returning!
Enjoy the last day of autumn everyone. Tonight (or maybe last night) was the longest night of the year. Tonight at 10:48 p.m. CST winter begins. Personally I like the cozy feeling of long shadows and early evenings of this time of year, but I also like that it will gradually become spring again too. … More Winter Solstice
Have you received a kiss under the mistletoe yet this season? There are a variety of mythologies surrounding mistletoe and winter traditions. Because of my celtic ancestry, let’s hear a few from the British Isles. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant to the Druids. They believed mistletoe to have many magical characteristics: healing diseases, antidote to poisons, … More Tis the Season to Decorate with Parasites!
Priscilla H. C. Crawford 