Over the course of the last month, temperatures and weather patterns in Southern Minnesota have fluctuated wildly. While exacerbated and hastened by climate change, these changes are also the telltale signs of a seasonal shift.
I’m a big fan of winter — I love snow, I embrace the cold, enjoy getting cozy while nights are long, and am always awed by the silence, the stillness. Freezing temperatures and blankets of snow can feel harsh, but for me there’s a restfulness in it. A quiet that no other part of the year can boast. It’s a chance for slowing down. Autumn is full of frantic preparations, preparing for the cold, harvesting, getting through as many tasks as possible before that last warm day is done. And summer is just full to the brim, taking advantage of long days and trying to maximize every minute. And spring? After a long winter of waiting and resting, spring is a deep shift, and it can start in the most subtle of ways. But winter, while full of hardship, is also full of stillness.
Candlelight Trails
February 13th, 2026
This free community event at Ney was the perfect encapsulation of how winter can bring a sense of peace. Traveling down a trail lit by candle luminaries, with a sky full of stars above, and a cozy campfire, you couldn’t help but feel the tranquility.
Winter is also a call to ADVENTURE!
Cold weather and snow is a signal to tuck in and get cozy, but it’s also a chance to get active, and enjoy a sometimes underestimated season. At Ney, people of all ages, were able to head into the outdoors and get their bodies moving.
Humans aren’t the only ones that stay busy during winter. Many animals remain active throughout the coldest months of the year, and while not always seen, they do leave behind plenty of tracks that give clues to their every day lives. I recently went for a long ski at Ney and was kept busy spotting the numerous tracks and signs all over the trails. I couldn’t help but stop and examine each one of them!
“Walking through a winter wonderland”
These raccoon tracks (left) ambling across the frozen Frog Pond are a great example of the different animal signs that can be spotted throughout the coldest months.
In short, it’s been a great winter at Ney. With the worsening of climate change, significant and long-lasting snowfalls are becoming somewhat of a rarity, and being able to have weeks of usable snow this winter, was a welcome surprise. Skiing and kicksledding were two big hits, and I hope that next year can be just as (if not more) exciting.
But winter can’t last forever, and inevitably, things are going to start shifting. Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve been noticing more and more of these subtle signs of spring, despite occasional cold snaps, and still snow-covered ground. Whether it’s a chickadee or cardinal being heard using their spring calls, the sun feeling just a bit warmer, or the snow being noticeable “softer”, it’s clear that we are in the midst of transition.
During a particularly warm stretch in the middle of February, this transition became more pronounced. The so-called “false spring” was like the earth yawning and stretching, and all of a sudden, activity seemed to explode all around us.
Taking advantage of the changing seasons, and feeling a need to stretch our legs, myself and the other Ney Naturalists headed down to the Minnesota River at the end of February — looking at trail conditions, gauging maple syruping equipment, and enjoying the sun. It was a bit of a muddy, mucky, adventure, but tracks in the melting snow were a real highlight of our day!
Transition can be messy
Navigating trails during a winter-spring transition is not always for the faint of heart! We found that some areas were so saturated from snowmelt that it was impossible to stay up on our feet!
There were plenty of challenges to overcome this winter, and we all know that it’s not quite over yet. After all, historically, March is one of the snowiest months in Minnesota. But even the coldest and harshest winters come to an end, and these last few weeks have shown that it won’t be long now for spring 2026 to be in full swing. But for now, I’m ready to ride the weather roller coaster that marks the winter-spring transition, and to enjoy spotting all the subtle (and not so subtle) signs of change.
