snow at last!

Have you recovered from yesterday’s deer spine? LOL.  Good news, we finally got some snow–2 inches of wet sticky snow. Finally a blanket of white. Many of our native northern plants rely on a blanket of snow in winter. The snowpack acts as an insulator, protecting roots from the harsh temperatures. There is also a number of small critters that rely on the cover of snow, making highways under the protective blanket, so that they can forage without becoming easy targets for prey. I have no idea how long this snow will last. But it is a welcome change for now. These stems (false indigo, I believe) caught my attention on today’s walk because of the way each leaf is curled up like a scroll. Each stem, a library of ancient wisdom.

(false indigo?) stems in winter