Much could be said about the inconveniences of winter in the northern latitudes, cold and ice, frost and snow that threaten man and other creatures with difficulty and hunger. Winter tends to look like the rudder of a car stuck in slippery grooves, crushing engines take a long time to respond to sub-zero temperatures, the rushing pace between mud and hail, toes, fingers and ears, and apprehensive . With that in mind, you might say, "What's so wonderful about winter?"
But winter is not bad, is it? Ask almost every child in the snow what they think of winter. Ask the children who model a snowman, the young people who skate in frozen ponds, the adults who descend from dusty trails, or the grandfather who reads a book by the fireplace. They can say winter is "fun," "a wonderful time of year," despite the difficulties.
But the winter wonders don't stop to play and relax. Ancient squirrels and noisy groundhogs quietly huddle in their surrounding dens, sleeping until the warmer weather arrives. Geese, ducks and warblers have left their bushes and bare trees in their search for the southern sun and heat. The insects are stopped by the cold.
But above and below the layer of snow, there is life. When you are quiet in the woods or on the patio, you can hear little squeaks as they search for seeds and insects. Woodpeckers run from tree to tree in search of eggs and larvae asleep in cracks in the bark or sealed in their silk cocoons. Hardy's crows are found above the treetops. Footprints in the snow reveal that weasels, rabbits, foxes, and deer are searching for food. Frozen ponds can be heard popping and crushing. Here too is the glow of a special world of sparkling water crystals that grow, grow, break, flow and flow with incredible precision and stark beauty.
Under the layer of snow, the fallen leaves and the hard ground, even under the bark of the trees, under the steps of the balcony, in the barns and in the deserted buildings, there is life in the form of seeds, eggs, cocoons, sprouts, sleep and fertilizers. , each one promises to live in the spring.
In fact, living and working in the winter forest is another world. At a depth of three inches in every square meter of forest, organisms can be found that add up to more than 100,000,000,000, or approximately thirty times the human population of the entire earth! Of that total, animals large enough to be seen with the naked eye represent only 0.00000%! These billions of organisms are busy processing dead leaves and other debris into gases and nutrients that green plants can reuse to produce food and oxygen. In the spring, there will be food for trees and other plants. What a wonderful wonder of God!
Another wonder is the very symbol of winter: the snowflake. These extremely fragile crystals retain their six-sided shape when thousands of feet fall into the gray sky. Snowflakes are lacy vapor growths formed around tiny dust particles in the air. Although we don't normally notice this dust, we can see it when it's caught by a ray of sunlight. At the correct temperature, when a molecule of water vapor adheres to a dust core, a snowflake is born. It assumes remarkable shapes when diving on land. Some forms are delightfully simple and others are incredibly complex, but none are exactly the same. Certain snow crystals make up the most beautiful designs in the world. Exquisite lacquer patterns are often copied into jewelry and fabrics. "It is surprising that the dance of molecules produces these geometric designs," said a snowflake official.
As a rule, snowflakes fall individually, but if the temperature is just above the freezing point, they can catch on falling, sometimes forming a flake four inches in diameter. When enough snow falls, an unusual amount of air is trapped inside the snow crystals. We know that the men survived two days buried in the snow without suffocation. Because of its air retention potential, snow is an excellent insulator, keeping heat at the lowest levels of the soil and preventing seeds from freezing and winter crops from being destroyed. What is the use of this wonderful winter wonder!
Another winter wonder is ice. The mere freezing of water is an incredible miracle in its meaning. According to all the rules of physical behavior, ice should not float. Almost all substances, solid, liquid or gaseous, decrease in volume as the temperature drops. Water follows this rule precisely as a gas and, as a liquid, for 96% of the temperature range to the freezing point. But at 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit, something happens. As cooling continues, instead of slowing down, the water expands. The frozen molecules appear to trap the air molecules in their frozen structures, freezing in a solid at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, forming pieces of ice that float with about nine tenths of the mass submerged in the surrounding water.
Without this phenomenon, this floating wonder of ice, the seas, lakes and rivers of the world would freeze slowly, depriving the earth of its water supply if necessary. But, as is the case, when winter arrives, ice forms and floats on the surface of water bodies, forming an insulating skin which protects the water from freezing and protects living beings there.
I like winter because of the snow