Writing Memoir On Nature’s Calendar

It’s Wednesday, it’s winter, and some people are having a little more trouble than usual getting out of bed. Well, you’re not alone.

The woodchucks are with you, and since they range from the eastern and Midwest United States, and throughout most of Canada, there are millions asleep under the ground right now.

You might know them as groundhogs, those furry creatures weighing in at about 5 to 10 pounds and at 16 to 20 inches in length. Members of the squirrel family, they are sleeping right now, though not for much longer. With the onset of winter, the woodchucks hibernate at least through February, their body temperatures dropping to 40°F, and their hearts beating only four to ten times per minute. When the awaken, they immediately begin eating, and the mating season commences.

Alternately, I sometimes fall asleep at night wondering about who is up and working. Racoons are up, and despite taking some long winter naps, they are sufficiently awake to raid what they can of food left in corn cribs and barnyards. The otter and mink are awake, hungry and hunting. Deer, too, are up, as anyone in the country will tell you, and unless the snow is too deep they will be wandering the woodland, and while the porcupine is half asleep well up in the large pine trees, he is gnawing the bark when he gets hungry. The skunk naps and awakens, the rabbit is seen darting through the cold, and the fox, ever vigilant, in awake at night, hunting his prey, as of course, are the great horned owls. So rest easy, knowing that someone else is doing the hard work at night.

The world of nature has its own calendar. Use it to your advantage, and write. Many of these cycles can be found on my calendar. Have a look.