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Signs of Winter
Fri Jan 21, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton from the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather
Notebook. For me, the true sign of winter is when the snow finally sticks to the ground.
For commentator David Laskin of Seattle, Wash., it's the misty rains that get him in the
winter mood.
DL: I once read somewhere that Pacific Northwest natives marked the onset of the
rainy season by blowing whistles to greet the spirits that drifted like mist through the
immense black conifers. As the rains began again, native peoples settled into a
mystical season of wood-carving, story-telling and spirit quests.
Though the misty spirits have fled and most of the ancient firs and cedars fallen to ax
and saw, there is still something mystical about the return of the winter rains to this
part of the world. Perhaps "return" is too emphatic, for the rains ease back gradually
and shyly. First come the lingering fogs of October mornings. Then, the gentle showers
that barely penetrate the foliage but leave a fluid glaze on roads and cars. And then,
one day in late November, the sky furrows its brow in earnest, the wind kicks up out of
the southwest, and it rains like it means it for long, slow darkening hours.
To me, the wet urgency of these deep, midwinter weeks is very precious and holy.
Daylight is dim and brief. The blood is sluggish. Colors muted. Mushrooms, moss,
mud, lamplight in the window, fire in the hearth, and the intermittent tap and gurgle of
falling rain. It's a time of year for taking stock and counting your blessings, especially
the blessings that fall freely and plentifully from the sky.
David Laskin is an author and weather enthusiast from Seattle, Wash. The Weather
Notebook is underwritten by Subaru and the National Science Foundation. Visit us at
our website, weathernotebook.org.
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