Wind Chill

Nothing like single digit wind chills to clarify the mind... and make the nose run... and numb the fingers. Even still, I essay into the cold weather, knowing there are darker days and colder days to come. It's an attempt at honesty, not bravado. The way seedlings can be hardened off to wind and outdoor conditions in the spring, I sometimes think one can prepare for winter. Maybe by simple exposure to the elements an alchemy of attitude and metabolism might occur? I realize it's a little simplistic, for each winter the long nights eventually close in on the mind, a grip I've never fully been able to escape.

With the wind gusting out of the south, the woods on the north slope of the St Olaf hill were quiet and calm. I stopped at one of the wasp trees along the trail. Hub of so much insect and bird activity during the warmer months, the remains of this tree now stand derelict, like a ruined mansion. I reached out and took hold of one of a number of small shelf fungi protruding from the trunk of the tree. Covered in wood dust and bark chips, I was uncertain if it was a frozen mushroom or a solid bracket fungi. It was solid. I snapped off a chunk like breaking a piece off a cookie. A small beetle larva dangled out of the broken edge. I placed the larva and the piece of bracket in my pocket to examine later at home.

Cautiously, I stepped onto the ice of the wooded pond. Near shore, where yesterday's fierce north wind hadn't kept the water open, the ice was several inches thick. It held my weight easily. Bubbles trapped under the ice moved with each step; the ice must be bending ever so slightly. During the calm overnight hours the open water had frozen as well, but that ice was quite thin.

Posted on 11 de novembro de 2017, 03:19 AM by scottking scottking

Observações

Fotos / Sons

What

Escaravelhos (Ordem Coleoptera)

Observador

scottking

Data

Novembro 10, 2017 02:54 PM CST

Descrição

Beetle, larvae
associated with shelf fungi on rotten tree
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota
TL = 5.5mm

Etiquetas

Fotos / Sons

Observador

scottking

Data

Novembro 10, 2017 02:48 PM CST

Descrição

Leafhopper
associated with shelf fungi on rotten tree
St Olaf Natural Lands
Northfield, Minnesota

Etiquetas

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