The winter weather may have taken its time getting here this year, but I think we can agree that the North Country has once again been transformed into the icy, frigid landscape we have come to know and love (or at the very least, tolerate begrudgingly).

With snow covering the ground, ice coating our walkways, and Jack Frost nipping at our noses, agricultural pollinators are probably the last things on our minds. However, for the dedicated enthusiasts among us, one question remains: where are the bees?  

Remember that kid at school who was good at everything? Smart, athletic, popular, usually in a higher income bracket—seems like there was one in every class who must have taken more than their fair share when luck was handed out. And didn’t you find them annoying some days?

“Make me one with everything.” If you had to guess, you’d probably say that was either a request to a short-order cook at a diner, or else a supplication to the Divine. This winter, I think someone whispered that line in Mother Nature’s ear, because even though it is not yet half over, she has already made us a winter with everything. It’s as if she glanced at her weather playlist and hit the buttons for unseasonable warmth, extreme cold, high winds, rain, sleet, ice, and snow, and then selected the “shuffle” function and walked away.

This winter took a long time to wise up. Snow lovers lamented, but I was among those who enjoyed the break from snow shoveling and firewood hauling during our pseudo-September. However, I noticed some less positive effects of the tropical weather. For one thing, the buds on my currant bushes decided it must be spring and began to open. Coltsfoot, dandelions, and Johnny-jump-ups bloomed. Buds on silver and red maples swelled and looked ready to burst open any moment. What happens when plants get confused by the weather?

What fearless animal has an adorable face, plows snow all winter and has a six-million acre park named after it?

One of 29 species worldwide, the North American porcupine is the largest New World species, growing to 36 inches long and weighing as much as 35 pounds. That makes it the second-largest North American rodent (behind the beaver), but still only half the size of an African crested porcupine which can exceed 60 pounds. It is also the only cold-hardy porcupine, and one of the few that climb trees.

In northern New York State, autumn temperatures have been between seven and eight degrees above average, allowing us even more time to procrastinate fall chores. This has been welcome to those who have to work outside, and anyone concerned about their heating bill is loving the warm weather too. Obviously, skiers and other winter enthusiasts aren’t happy, but I think the rest of us should get ticked off as well.

Not that long ago the winter holiday season started after Thanksgiving, but it seems like every year it inches closer to the middle of the calendar. Now Santa just barges in the day after Halloween, presumably to take advantage of half-price candy, but still it seems a bit rude. I blame the insidious “holiday creep” (not to be confused with the Grinch) on global warming. Or maybe it’s commercialism, I don’t know.

With the holidays upon us, ‘tis the season to revisit the great Christmas tree debate: real vs. artificial? According to the American Christmas Tree Association, 80% of American Christmas tree buyers chose artificial trees in 2013. But did they make the greenest choice? Turns out it’s complicated.  Artificial trees last longer, but most are made from unrecyclable, petroleum-based plastics that do not biodegrade. Most travel thousands of miles from China to reach your living room.