Sixty years ago, in 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, a book that awakened many Americans to the often harmful effects of the use of pesticides.

Carson’s writings reveal a respect for and love of nature that continue to inspire me. One quotation from Silent Spring seems particularly relevant at this time of the year:

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

This first week of 2022 is a cold one in Eliza Howell Park in Detroit and I find myself thinking about nature’s assurance that spring will follow winter. When my walk brings me to some of the trees that I visit in other seasons, I see them as they are now, but also in spring flowering and with the fruits/seeds of summer and fall.

American Beech.

Eastern Redbud

Black Cherry

Bladdernut

Chinese Chestnut

Eastern Cottonwood

Amur Honeysuckle

Recognizing nature’s repeated refrains, a winter walk in the cold is a reassuring reminder of the other seasons that are coming this year.