How to Pay Attention This Week

Even in the depths of winter there are plants reminding us of how to thrive

This weekend, we went on a walk to the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The snow is receding more than normal for a typical winter thaw. The nearly two feet of snow have fallen to just spotted layers covering the decaying organic material left from the growing year.

While wandering through the cedar grove by the river, I noted the layers of color. Even at this time of the year, we believe there is little to find vibrancy in. I have learned that, as a northerner, winter is a time that refines our eyes to hunt for the bright spots and colors in the land around us. I love this work as the snow reveals what has fallen asleep under the snow. I noted the color blues in the rushing river that flowed over the stones and how much I resonated with the vigor of the river's flow into the lake. I became enamored with the tones of the bark of the white pines and the cedar trees that reached their roots deep into the icy flowing waters to sustain themselves. Even on this mild February day, when the clouds were low, I felt the season's beauty.

Then I saw a pile of fallen cedars piled on the river's edge, and the lichen and moss growing over the stumps and trunks was just thriving in multiple colors. I immediately went closer, drawn in by the colors, and found an entire world of colors, texture, and life unfolding right there on the tree. I have always loved the lichen and mosses in winter and found them fascinating, but this felt extra beautiful in the gray light and impending rains.

Upon returning home, I began researching lichen and moss and why they would be so alive this season. They have developed specific traits that allow them to endure the coldest weather and thrive in communities through adapted skills that even include anti-freezing capabilities in the very cellular structure of their foliage. I became enamored in that moment by these sometimes forgotten plants we live amongst. They usually involve us getting down on our hands and knees to explore fully, and even then, a magnifying glass would just further your ability to take in all that they are.

It was then that I wondered about myself and what ways I have adapted to this climate that allow me to find ways to thrive and grow despite the lack of life that feels present in this season. I began to list off the things I shift in myself and focus on in these darker and grayer days of the season, not just to endure but thrive.

I felt thankful that afternoon as I re-examined the images I had saved of the lichen and moss on my phone. The ones where I zoomed in so I could get a hold of every texture, color, and detail they had created, even in the deep snow that covered them. How they chose the places to grow where the sun shined on them, and the snow melted first. I thought of all the traits that make up these many times overlooked parts of our ecosystem, yet how much they have to tell us.

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