I don’t like winter. This has been the case for as long as I can remember. I’m not a fan of the cold and I don’t like the darkness. A lot of the things that I do (gardening, being outside, taking care of my backyard pond) go on pause during the winter season. For a long time, for me, winter has meant staying inside and longing for spring to come.

After years of groaning about winter (roughly 17 to be exact) I’ve come to accept that the coming of the season is something that cannot be changed. No matter how upset I am, winter always comes. As it turns out, my dissatisfaction will not change the seasons. This (obvious) realization has led me to actively search for things that I enjoy during the winter.

Though many creatures spend the winter hibernating, there are lots of animals that continue to do their thing despite the cold weather. Birds continue to flit around and search for food and squirrels scurry about. It is a good reminder for me that my life does not have to go on pause during the winter time. It turns out that many of the things that I like to do can still be done in the cold. I like to go hiking, and I can still go out as long as I am bundled up. I like to photograph birds, and during the winter time I can shoot out my back door when it is too cold to be outside. My backyard pond endeavors have translated to setting up a heated bird bath in the winter to attract wildlife. Unfortunately, there is really no way to do any kind of gardening in the winter, but I can use the time to plan and prepare for the next growing season.

I can’t deny that there are certain things the season brings that can’t be experienced any other time of year. I try to cling to those things. When it does snow, the falling snow makes it extremely quiet outside. I remember standing out in my backyard last year while it flurried and being amazed at just how quiet it was. The snow seemed to dampen the usual road and city noise. Even without snow, being outside in the winter is often very peaceful (albeit very cold).

One thing that gets me through the cold weather is the arrival of the juncos. Dark-eyed juncos are small, round, grayish birds. They are only seen in Nebraska during the winter time as they migrate far north to breed during the summer. I love to watch the juncos in my backyard. They visit our feeders but prefer to forage for the seeds that have fallen onto the ground. I have fond memories of opening up the back door, being blasted with cold air and hearing the familiar chirps and beeps of the junco’s foraging for seed. It is wild to watch such tiny birds hopping through snow banks many times as tall as they are. It is a good reminder that if they can survive the cold winter then I probably can too.

In November, the winter season out in front of me feels overwhelming, but I find that when I look for the things that I enjoy, the season actually goes by pretty fast. Before I know it, the juncos begin to migrate north, my plants pop out of the ground, and spring arrives again.