Winter Chemistry

“Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximising scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.”

by Katherine May - Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, 2020.

Art: Elaine Bayley - Welcome December, December's Song.

@elainebaileyillustrations #elainebayleyillustrations

Winter in Minnesota has been mild so far. At least ten California friends have expressed concern about how Joe and I are doing in the wintry weather. I know it can be a shock for people living in milder climates. Even a few of my new Minnesota friends have told me I will hate the winter by March.

We are prepared physically for the weather. I own a warm winter coat and have only worn it twice. Most times I prefer my lightweight jacket - it keeps me warm and is less cumbersome.

When we moved to Cairo in 2001, people warned us about the heat. We were fine. We did not keep ourselves locked away from the community with air conditioning running as some of the Americans we knew. Too much for us to see and do, to keep ourselves indoors.

Minnesota is the opposite. We do what needs to be done on wet and chilly days; otherwise, we see it as an opportunity to read, write, watch YouTube videos (for Joe), and rest. Truth be told, my body thinks it should be storing up more fat for the winter. Ha! Like I have not been battling the weight issue before...

We are adapting.

Today Charlotte, Joe, and I made glow-in the dark slime with her chemistry set. Joe was the supply gatherer. Charlotte, with just a little help from Joe, set up her chemistry lab bench. She used the box cover as her guide. Once everything was set up, Charlotte measured the water while Joe poured and then she stirred the special glow-in-the-dark slime powder into a tube.

Next step was to shake the tube for thirty seconds every few minutes until the material set-up. The instructions read 15-25 minutes. It was more like forty minutes. We lost Charlotte about thirty minutes into the waiting period. Have not seen her since.

One of the things about having the dining room set we purchased at the thrift store awhile back is the kids love to bring stuff down to play or draw. Pan, our grand puppy brings his toys down. I looked around today and realized that we have become a bit cluttered with stuff. We had the kids put some of their stuff away in their own space this morning to make way for them to work on a project requiring adult supervision. When they finished, they took everything upstairs.

Shortly after, Charlotte brought the chemistry lab down and set it up. I do not mind. Joe and I are happy the kids like hanging out with us and feel welcomed in the space.

Charlotte and her chemistry set: