(FREE) The Sunny Side: Finding Purpose in the Winter Pause
by Liz Threlkeld / Contributing Writer
The following article appeared in the print issue of Ponca City Monthly magazine, which includes hyperlocal stories about Ponca City. Get full access to all online articles, videos, and content by becoming a paid subscriber. We offer free and paid subscription plans. Find rack locations to pick up your free print copy here, or subscribe here to get online access plus exclusive content.
Welcome to “The Sunny Side” where we’ll chat about all things homesteading! My name is Liz Threlkeld and I have been homesteading with my family in small forms or large fashions for most of my life. From growing gardens to DIY projects, to cooking and preserving, to raising and processing our own meat animals, we’ve learned a thing or two along the way. I’m excited to get to share some of this life with you. Ready? Let’s grow!
Finding Purpose in the Winter Pause
It’s a new year, Friends!
The weather drives critters and people into their dens where the heat has traded places with the cool. The leaves have fallen to expose the trees’ skeletons that were otherwise hidden during the year. Color has faded. Growth slows. The days are short and the darkness is long. It’s as though nature puts her finger to her lips and whispers “shhhh…”. It’s the hush of winter.
I didn’t always appreciate the pause. As far as I was concerned, it was a kink in my productivity on the homestead. As I have aged, though, I have endeavored to see the purpose behind the things I don’t understand. Here are some of those findings:
Without a certain number of hours of freezing temperatures, certain stone fruits, such as apples and peaches, cannot bloom and therefore cannot bear fruit, which is why they cannot grow by the equator. Some seeds rely on the freeze-thaw cycle of the soil to help bury them, preparing them for spring growth and, of course, we wouldn’t have winter wheat or maple syrup if it weren’t for the freezing temperatures.
Then, there’s the effect that it has on humans. Cold boosts the immune system by triggering the production of white blood cells, it can increase your metabolism and burn stored fat cells, and it tends to reduce aerial pollen allergens, bringing relief to allergy sufferers. Without getting too “sciencey”, my most recent fascination has been with how the cold makes you more “hardy”. According to BiologyInsights, cold shock proteins, or CSPs, are proteins that are created by your body during cold exposure that helps cells to survive harsh environments and adapt to temperature fluctuations.
Still, what if there were more that could be gleaned besides the physical aspect of the slow season? I love that the new year starts in the middle of it. The natural respite sets the pace in our rhythm. It creates space in our busy lives to reflect upon the past year. Perhaps it’s the time we need to learn from our past successes and mistakes. It can also be a time of rest, rejuvenation, and renewal for you, the animals, and the garden beds. My personal favorite part, though, is getting to use it as a telescope to peek into the future - our future, the one we are planning for the next year. We will discuss ideas, throw out the bad ones, toss in some crazy ones, and let our imagination run wild through the still dark weeks, until we finally settle on a plan for the coming year.
You see, sometimes visible progress slows, such as with the branches of trees, but deep beneath the surface, the roots are plunging further into the ground. They are searching for water and protection from the cold, but the extension also stabilizes the tree for the next season of growth it will experience.
Knowing the secret power of winter is what makes me giddy with anticipation as I’m rummaging through seeds and seed catalogs, or dreaming about which animal to bring home next, or what building project might spark my interest, or even what we can eliminate that didn’t serve us well. It’s the growth beneath the surface, stabilizing us for next year.
I love a good action item to consider so here’s yours: embrace the lull of the season and use its slowness to your advantage, whatever that looks like for you. Even winter has its ‘sunny side’.
To Pause and Ponder!
Liz Threlkeld
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about Ponca City Monthly+
Ponca City Monthly is a locally owned publication that delivers hyperlocal news in print and online.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and tell a friend.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email editor@poncacitymonthly.com