The Joy of Four Seasons - Part 1

I just returned from a few days in Chicago and there are photos to share.  However, the last post mentioned my appreciation of the seasons and a promise to say more.

Even though I majored in biology in New York City, growing up there did not instill the appreciation I now have for the four seasons.  Between the concrete and steel and misplaced priorities of aimless youth, the natural world didn’t start to impress me until I moved away.

Tagged Subway, Morris Park Station, Bronx, NY (December 1975)

Initially, I liked Wisconsin because it was not New York and I especially grew to love their friendly, honest, mid-west sensibilities.  However, the winters during my five years there were brutal.  As a zoology graduate student, I had difficulty warming up (so to speak) to a region where most living things moved away, hibernated or died during the long winter season.  The best thing about Wisconsin winter is the spring that follows it…and one understands why it’s easy to get a little silly with Spring Fever.  After a long, oppressive stretch when it is dangerous to go outside without protective clothing, those first days of fresh  green growth, new blossoms and shirtsleeve weather can be euphoric.

Nor’easter, Bradford Beach, Milwaukee (February 1974)

Over three days, the storm’s crashing waves froze in 
place to build 20-foot ice cliffs on the flat sand beach

A work opportunity allowed me to swing the pendulum the other way and I moved to New Orleans.  There, too much winter was replaced by too much summer.  Sure, it encouraged all manner of biological activity (especially if you like mosquitoes, roaches and mold) but the climate was still oppressive.  And apart from certain flowers like azaleas looking good in the spring, the other seasons are not all that distinctive.

City Park in the Fog, New Orleans (April 1986)

Autumn is a fun irony there.  There is no color change in the trees but you can tell the summer is ending when the first Canadian fronts brings in cool, dry air.  Just like springtime in Wisconsin, being able to breathe real air and ADD a layer of clothing is enough to make you giddy. 

After fifteen years in the Crescent City, work again prompted relocation and I have lived happily in Maryland since 1990.  The next post will be an appreciation of that.