I feel sorry for this time of year. If it were a person, it would be ignored. Everyone would talk over it like it had nothing of value to say. It would be a wallflower that is overlooked by the popular big four—spring, summer, fall and winter.
The harvest is generally finished; fields are mostly brown. The last leaf has finally stopped clinging to the branches—it is Stick Season in the Midwest.
Stick Season gets lost in the shuffle. It's more of a transition between beautiful fall colors wrapped in sweatshirt weather and a landscape covered in white. The tradeoff on a glimmering white landscape, of course, is the extra 10 minutes it takes to gear up with warm winter clothes before stepping out the door. And another 10 to remove them. And sometimes overnight to dry them on the register. And crummy roads. And pushing snow out of the farm yard and driveway. And frozen water pipes in the barn. And dead batteries in equipment. Wait, I better stop. Winter might start getting bullied by the other seasons. We wouldn't want that.
Poor, poor stick season. Trees and plants have gone dormant. Birds have moved on to warmer southern weather. Wildlife have gone into hibernation or are finding a place close to food and water to hunker down for the winter. Humans are in their post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas stupor, ignoring Nature's transition time until a dramatic weather change smacks us cold and douses us in snow.
While the soil and trees and wildlife are going into rest mode for the next several months, I look around the homestead on Dec. 2 and am not quite ready to hibernate, even though it sounds like a good idea today. I need Stick Season to stick around for a few more days, weeks even.
There are still patio chairs and tables to put away. Good intentions of bringing geraniums inside to overwinter and save a boatload of money in outdoor landscape coloration for next spring are a bust, but there is still thyme and oregano in the herb pot that is green and would be very tasty this winter. The Hostas still need to be split, and it would be nice to fill the holes in the yard and landscaping dug by the dogs. I seem to find them when they are camouflaged in snow and fall into their trap every time. Usually face first.
Inside the house on this day, fake fall leaves fill a vase on a table, and fake Christmas greens from last year are still hanging on a wall. It's time to move on Christmas decorating and a tree, even though I want to hibernate myself, at least for a couple of days.
So instead of ignoring poor old Stick Season, I need to move on its message, which is to step up the pace and get those last details tightened up for the winter. Are there any important public service announcements Stick Season has for you?
Next week's column? Procrastination.
Bev Berens is a mom to 4-H and FFA members in Michigan. Do you have a story to share? Email her at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.