Summer in the Seed

 “Long sleeps the summer in the seed.” Alfred Tennyson

Granny Hat’s seasonal education is progressing well. She was warned over and over again that Old Man Winter had retired in the northwest corner of the Treasure State. So all through glorious, golden Autumn, Granny saved a list of indoor sewing projects and unpacking marathons for the long, dark days of hibernation in her new Montana home. 

She didn’t panic when the polar winds blew in; she was happy as a clam and snug as a bug in a rug sewing accent pillows, opening boxes of books and forgotten treasures, organizing closets and drawers.  Every now and then, Granny would take a break from her tasks to stare in awe out her window at the swirling snow or jump up to snap a photo of some Big Sky winterscape. Surely, there would be plenty of time to finish her to-do list before spring arrived in a blaze of glory, maybe in April!

Granny learned quickly, however, that winter’s bluff and bluster doesn’t stop all Montanans from going places.  They keep busy building barns, snow shoeing, milking cows, skiing and even shopping at Costco. It’s business as usual even when the temps dip below zero.

Granny Hat didn’t want to be left behind so she joined the Glacier Symphony Chorale, got busy teaching Sunday School at Trailhead Church, and went walking with friends whenever the roads were safe. 

Before she knew it, the late February weather warmed to a balmy 45 degrees. Little green shoots were shyly peeking through a layer of snow in the flower garden and deer were literally dancing in Granny Hat’s pasture. People were spotted wearing shorts at Natural Grocers and the friendly neighbor across the street declared winter to be over! Granny’s better half began celebrating but Granny wasn’t about to leave the house without her coat.  

You might be from Montana if …………. 

You have left the house wearing shorts and a coat at the same time or……… You have suffered both sunburn and frostbite in the same week.

There was still another principle of Winter 101 to be learned! Just because a hardened Montana native tells you winter is over doesn’t make it so. Granny never understood the phrase “March came in like a lion, went out like a lamb” until this winter! 2022’s third month opened with plummeting mercury, fresh new snowfall and howling winds. 

You might be from Montana if ………..

You never really put much stock in the weather forecast because you know it is almost always wrong.

Granny rushed back indoors to hibernate a little longer, to finish indoor projects and ponder the lessons winter has taught her:

She has learned that driving in powdery snow is safer than slip sliding away on the ice. 

You might be from Montana if……… 

You prefer driving in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

Don’t even think about washing the car until May. Melting snow and ice mix with dirt into a thick goo that cannot be navigated around. It’s very acceptable, even chic, to drive a dirty car in Montana, embrace it! License plates and registration are discretionary in a Montana winter, the Highway Patrol can’t see them anyway. 

You might be from Montana if……….. 

You haven’t washed your vehicle in over a year because you fear the dirt is the only thing holding it together.

There are many ways to stay warm throughout a long winter; Granny recommends bread baking, brisk walking, skiing, hiking, wood chopping etc. When experts talk about base layers, pay attention!  Layers of clothing keep Granny toasty warm.

Don’t assume a blanket of snow means everyone fled to Arizona or is loafing listlessly by the fire. Hibernators are busy bears all winter long- Montana boasts one of the highest number of professional artisans per capita in the nation. These creative types soak up inspiration for three spectacular seasons then paint, sculpt, weave, forge and carve all winter long. Farmer’s Markets in the Flathead Valley are ripe with the produce of intense hibernation creativity.  It reminds Granny of her garden seeds and daffodil bulbs, hiding in the deep but not forgotten; dead, yet full of life and promise. 

“Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24

Seasons help Granny Hat celebrate and remember, they teach her there is a time for everything under the sun.  Montana’s version of Ecclesiastes 3 goes something like this:

There is a time to wash the car, visit the nursery, plant seeds, spring clean, graduate from school and celebrate new life. 

Then there is a time to camp, fish, hike in Glacier NP, raft down the Flathead River, mountain bike, hoe and weed and BBQ.  

Next, there is a time to harvest, hit the school books, enjoy the corn maze, take in a rodeo at the county fair, jump into golden piles of soft leaves, go hunting, wave goodbye to all the tourists and pause to be thankful. 

Finally, a time to rest from the other three crazy seasons, to celebrate the year with family and friends, to remember the birth of our Savior and embrace the quiet, slower pace that winter brings, maybe more time to read, be creative, ice fish, and ponder what the new year has in store. 

There are different ways to picture the passage of a year. Some may imagine a year like a long time line with winter at the end like a brick wall. Granny sees each year as a wheel slowly turning from day to day, from one season into the next. But it isn’t always abrupt, it is fluid. In music volume progresses from pp to p to mp to mf to f etc. It can be gradual, ever changing. That is how Granny sees seasons, they ebb and flow and slowly give in to the next. Be patient! Summer is coming, it is in every seed!

Granny Hat wants to leave her readers with a winter miracle, a piece of exquisite art made from some of that snow/mud goo and a deep frost on the windows of Dad’s van.  Jack Frost often wins the artist of the year award for his “fern-like pictures left on windows in winter” (Wikipedia)  but Granny wants to give credit where credit is due. Our creator made man from the dust of the ground and brings beauty from ashes. Be sure to zoom in to see the frosty lace!

This “winter lace” melted by mid-morning, a fleeting reminder that heaven and nature sing! Every season, even the bleak mid-winter, tells the glory of God.

You might be from Montana if…………. When bears wake from hibernation the story leads the evening news.