DARKNESS RULES / THE COLD MOON,

Northwest winds sweep through the hills, bringing their cold message of winter, transporting snow from Lake Ontario all the way down here to the southeast Catskills. Swirling snow-devils dance their white dervish dance, tearing reluctant leaves, themselves remnants of this season past, from branch and bough. Only the brazen small-birds - Cardinals, Chickadees, Bluejays, Sparrows, Titmice, Juncos and the like - venture forth, hardy creatures bred through the millennia to persevere - even thrive - in this harsh season. Winter is our desert, when life hides and folds itself into nooks out of the wind, under the bark of trees or into burrows dug deep by creatures trying to sleep through 'til Spring-time and warmth. I can identify, in a way. Until I get used to the winter thing I basically feel the same way - "Let me sleep and wake me when it's warm again". I will get into it eventually, I always do. I become fascinated by the illusion of lifelessness, knowing much is hidden, and will poke around, under leaf and rock, looking for that vibrant dormancy, the eternal conundrum of life amidst death, of the eternal Will to Live even in our cold, white, snowy desert.

RIGHT ON SCHEDULE - One day it was Fall. The next day Winter arrived. That's how this season has progressed - from a long, dry Autumn to a suddenly bitterly-cold and windy Winter. Yes, we all got lulled by the mostly mild September, October and early November, rarely punctuated by clouds and rain. I include myself. I loved it - except the drought part, that is. I've enjoyed exploring in these conditions, though wading through tinder-dry leaf-litter is as noisy as it can get in the woods. I also know how close we've come to experiencing the same major large-scale wildfires that have happened elsewhere. At least we've finally started getting serious rain that actually penetrated the new leaf-litter lining the forest floor and hopefully this trend will continue. We need to keep getting precipitation in any form. Snow is good, though 6" of snow is equal to only 1' of rain and constant winds do nothing but dry out our woods again.

DARKNESS RULES, SHADOWS LENGTHEN

As the days get shorter and shorter, as we wend our way darkly to the Winter Solstice (December 21) and as the magical, scary time of year approaches when light itself seems to disappear, seemingly sucked into the cold, dark vortex of mid-winter, life drawing in on itself, we can be forgiven for wondering - as our ancient ancestors most certainly did: - when the heck is the Sun ever going to return? We know rationally that this great time of change draws near, this watershed of light, one of the major markers of our natural yearly solar cycle, when finally light and life will ever-so-gradually start returning to our corner of the southeast Catskills, yet it is natural for us all - creatures of light - to yearn for relief from the unending darkness. Nature is reminding us of our small place in the universe.

THE HAWKISH GLARE/HUNTER & HUNTED

While it is true that it is "dog-eat-dog" (strange saying!) in the wild world 24/7/365, it is always most apparent to me when Spring, Summer and Fall are past and our world seems like it is stripped down to its basics - just the bare winter sky and the seemingly barren, brown earth. Now that Winter is finally upon us, let the Game begin - the Great Cycle of Life and Death. As the cold penetrates our bones and makes its hoary way into bark and under ground, the eternal natural cycle of life and death, hunter and hunted, predator and prey comes into clear and sharp focus. Until such time as the snow (if any) becomes deep enough to hide them readily from the hawkish glare, small rodents have to scurry quickly from one newly-fallen leaf to the other, hoping not to be seen. For their part, the wintering falcons, hawks and owls know that they must feed to keep warm in order to survive. Luckily for them, nature has provided a plethora of mice, moles and voles for them to watch for (and small birds for the falcons). These same rodents also supply much of the winter diet of the local wild canines - Eastern Coyote, Grey and Red Fox. Black Bear have pretty much gone to ground by now, settling in for a (hopefully) long nap. Notice I said "nap". The Black Bear doesn't truly hibernate. They sleep deeply, unless awoken by a warm spell, in which case they are apt to wake up and do so hungry. And what's the first thing they might smell with their most- powerful-nose-of-all-mammals? Any birdseed someone left out. So remember, if the weather does warm up, bring the feeders back inside. Smaller creatures also play the predator-prey Great Game. Woodpeckers look under bark for insects and their larvae. Skunks will do the same thing on your lawn while it is snowless. Fishers will be hunting for whatever they can find, including Porcupines. Then there's the "clean-up crew", our local Crows and Ravens, who assiduously find and dispose of the roadkill remains of Squirrels, Raccoons, Opossums and deer. It's all part of the process, the checks and balances of Mother Nature, keeping wild populations under control. Also, I believe that wild animals and plants intrinsically understand their role in the Great Cycle and - unlike most people - do not fear death. I’m not saying creatures don’t fight “tooth and nail” (another great saying!) to resist a predator - of course they do. I just doubt they lose sleep over the prospect of dying - it’s part of their very real world. It's almost like the cold, darker half of the year is the hunter, continually consuming the lighter, warmer half (or maybe the other way around?), then being reborn and renewed again - Hunter and Hunted - over and over. Nice coincidence that Orion, the Hunter, dominates our night sky at this time. SHADOWS LENGTHEN

As our Earth spins on its journey around the Sun, this is the time that the northern hemisphere is tilted away from Sol, bringing winter. When that tilt is at its most extreme is when we have our shortest day and longest night - the Winter Solstice (Dec.21). Throughout human history this darkest time has always inspired festivals of Light. The Roman’s Saturnalia is one example, in which they paid homage to Mithra, the ancient Persian God of Light. Among the disparate pagan peoples of northern and western Europe, Jul or Yule-tide was celebrated. I think “-tide” was particularly appropriate because if the summer solstice is the high- tide of light, and therefore, of life, in our part of the world, then the winter solstice is certainly the low-tide. But we must never forget that just as even when we’re encompassed in what seems like the deepest dark, there is always Light, if we only know where to look. This was an extremely important - and scary - time of year for early hunter-gatherers. It could be a fatal time for a tribe or clan if they hadn’t been able to store enough grain for the winter, or if game wasn’t plentiful enough to supplement what grains remained. Sometimes tribes starved to death or were forced to merge with others in order to survive. Considering this, it is no surprise at all how important what we now call the solstice was. All peoples carefully watched the movements of the Sun, the Moon, the planets and the stars, and they knew that on the day after the Solstice the days would start getting longer, very gradually at first, but enough that, by January, there would be a noticeable difference. They also knew that approximately 100 days after the solstice it would be time to plant the first crops of the coming season. The literal “light at the end of the tunnel”. Also - and just as important - opening day of baseball. CELEBRATION OF LIGHT AND LIFE

It can be a demanding, inward-looking time for us. With the shorter and colder days we tend to spend less time outside and therefore get less exposure to sunlight. This contributes to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which just adds one more challenge for us in what is commonly a challenging time for most. The Winter Solstice has long been among the holiest of holy days, special to many cultures. We know that in the Northern Tradition of Europe this was the time to celebrate life and light, when they were waning (at Stonehenge, for example). It also appears that the solstice was celebrated or observed in North America, as well. There are many stone structures across the United States which, like those elsewhere in the world, have features that align to the major solar events - the solstices (winter & summer) and the equinoxes (spring & fall). One feature that runs through our own area is a solstice alignment called the Hamonnassett Line. It runs from extreme eastern Long Island, diagonally across Connecticut, through the Catskills, all the way to Manitou Island in Lake Superior. On this line lie numerous lithic (stone) features - ancient walls, cairns, mounds and standing stones - probably Native American, that indicate the likelihood of spiritual practices related to the solstice. For more on the Hamonnassett Line see Glenn Kreisberg’s excellent article about it at grahamhancock.com/kreisbergg3 or simply Google “Hamonnassett Line”. Evidence also points to a parallel line running through the Woodstock Town-owned Comeau property. This makes sense since other (equinox and solstice) “lines” (more like corridors, really) intersect there, leading to the conclusion that the top of what we now call the Comeau Hill is an ancient holy place where all the Great Cycles - solar and lunar were observed and celebrated. People will be gathering there to observe the Winter Solstice sunrise (10:03 am EST) and sunset (4:35 pm EST). Not only will this be the shortest day of the year, but it is also the first official day of Winter (though it’s definitely already feeling like winter!).

THE TREE

Nothing symbolizes the perseverance of Life and Light through the time of the greatest darkness than the Yule tree. Found in many forms throughout Europe - in the house, outside the house, with lights, without lights - it is an ancient Pagan tradition, ever full of Life, Ever Green. In the Northern Tradition it symbolizes Yggdrasil, the very Tree of Life itself, connecting Earth and Sky - the sacred Kundalini manifest. THE DARKNESS RULES

1.) Always keep a flashlight or headlamp when in the woods now - dark can come on fast. Those of us who spend much time in the woods in this season will carry 1 of each.

2.) Warm accessories are a must now, too - hat, gloves, scarf, as well as warm/waterproof boots or shoes with good tread.

3.) Basic traction-aids like YakTrax and a trekking-pole or two can also be a big help if even a hint of ice.

4.) Pick up after Fido and bring it out with you, please - “tootsie-rolls” on the snow are not cool.

5.) Please respect Hunting Season - wear bright clothing, make noise, avoid off-trail and keep dogs on leash. See catskillmountainclub.org and NYC DEP for non-hunting places to walk, if you like.

6.) I think what it all boils down to, right now, is for us all to be particularly considerate and helpful to each other at this time. While I understand that there will always be darkness, humans are definitely creatures of light. Let's all try to provide that Light to each other, whether it means helping show someone the way out of the dark physical woods, or to try to be a little extra patient with others, who may - for reasons not immediately obvious to us - may be going through their own moment of great darkness. Please - let's all try to let the Light prevail - inside and out. Thank you.

TRIUMPH OF LIGHT

2025 is almost past, after another spin around the sun. By January the days will get noticeably lighter (no, really). Yes, it's another CATSKILLS WINTER ROLLERCOASTER OF CHILLS, SPILLS & THRILLS!, offering us not only danger and perils a- plenty but also a starkly-beautiful landscape, sculpted sometimes in gleaming ice and curving snow. So let's all enjoy it as best as we can, getting into the woods and onto the trails and observe our yearly frigid desert and its landscape of alternating drabness then sparkling whiteness and light.

Take Care, “Ranger” Dave Holden

(845)594-4863

woodstocktrails@gmail.com

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www.woodstocknytrails.com .