The Progress of Spring
Has spring already reached the North? Not quite. In Lapland's eight seasons, late winter is still before spring. The snow still reaches nearly to the waist, and in the mornings, the frost can still drop well below twenty degrees. Snow can fall as soft flakes or as horizontal blizzards for months to come. The best skiing and snowboarding days in the fells are still ahead.
The current season, springtime, is now the second-to-last season that I have yet to experience here in the north. Spring is said to pass quickly. During this time, everything happens rapidly as plants, animals, and all of nature awaken after over half a year of winter, coming back to life for a few months before the next winter arrives. I am eagerly looking forward to witnessing spring, just as I do for all the other seasons here.
Only in recent weeks have I started counting this true cycle of the year in the north. Winter indeed lasts from six to eight months. Last winter, there was still plenty of snow even in June, meaning winter lasted over nine months. So, the only months we can really count as summer are July and August. By the end of August, the autumn foliage begins, signaling the start of early fall. Thinking of it this way feels quite astonishing. But in lived experience, it doesn’t feel that way. Winter has now lasted for five months, and a few more are still to come. Yet it doesn’t become tiresome.
Why? Because it doesn’t include wet and gray slushy conditions or uncertainty about whether it is winter or an everlasting November. Instead, there are honest, solid freezing temperatures, good deep snow, and the icy light painting the horizon every day in various pastel shades. Who wouldn’t appreciate such a winter?
I often repeat it, but here in nature, changes occur almost every day. Not a single one of the eight winter months is the same as another. They say years are not siblings, and here even weeks are not siblings. Last week, due to the warm sunshine, the snow that had melted from the roads and the dry asphalt revealed beneath it was covered again by snow in just one evening. Yesterday's positive temperatures changed to twenty degrees below zero this morning.
Every day brings something new to marvel at. The depth of the snow, its composition, new snow, new animal tracks on the snow, the snow remaining on the trees, the state of the ice. The observations can go on indefinitely. The sun changes position so quickly that it's hard to believe. A few months ago, it barely peeked over the forest on the opposite bank of the river; now it shines brightly all day, starting as early as six in the morning. In the evening, around seven or eight o'clock, it is still bright enough to do yard work without a headlamp.
There is light everywhere and for almost all of my waking hours. I often start my mornings early; I might be up easily before five and already busy with work before seven. I function best in the morning hours. It feels wonderful to wake up when it’s bright outside. It’s a bit confusing that the reflection I see in my bedroom window is not my own morning image but rather a snowy landscape bathing in the light of the pale blue morning. While I brew my morning coffee, the sun rises above the trees, painting warm yellow hues in broad strokes against the blue tones.
As evening falls, the darkness is no longer all-consuming and black, overtaking the landscape right after the afternoon. Instead, it consists of gradually deepening shades of blue that still hold the daylight in power until the very end. As the sun sinks below the horizon, the moon and stars illuminate the snowy landscape for a good while longer.
Yesterday, I gazed at the dark blue starry sky and the landscape bathed in moonlight. Soon, it will be hidden for a few months as the round-the-clock brightness keeps the night sky concealed until autumn returns.
Spring winter loosens its grip day by day. This week, milder temperatures and strong winds are forecasted. A spring storm precedes nature's awakening once again. However, before that, we can still expect solid snow conditions, long sunny spring evenings, and still very cold frosty mornings.
Thank you! Wishing you a lovely start to spring or continued winter as well. If there's anything else you'd like to share or discuss, feel free! ☀️
♥: Sanna