The winds of March like the gales of November signify the transition from one season to another, we know them as the winds of change.

Without these winds, wild and unpredictable as they may be and even destructive, the climate of this planet would arrive at a stalemate and life as we know it would go into free fall. There would no longer be a jet stream circling the globe dispersing the weather systems carrying moisture and warmth that enables a wide variety of life forms to thrive. Life would be limited to a very narrow belt near the equator.

The long history of our own kind has been vastly impacted by weather. While we are highly adaptable we are still as vulnerable as any life form to inclement conditions. We spent the vast majority of our evolutionary history in the tropics. It was only when we mastered the skill of controlling fire and making clothing that we were able to move into the less hospitable climates.

Today’s technology has wrapped us in a cocoon of protection. Very few of us would last long outside of that protection. The sparrows at my feeders are far better prepared to survive winter than are we.. And yet here we still are, wrapped like mummies against the winter chill, waiting for spring and grateful for the sun’s rays with faith that one day the garden will bloom again and winter’s memory will fade away like the melting snows.