Below and left of Jupiter, relatively faint planet Mercury twinkles close above the skyline while, to the right of Mercury, red star Antares, also pale in the dawn light, rises into the winter morning sky.
A New Year’s Eve walk through the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison, Wisc., made me realize that buds, fruits, and bark can draw us into the winter landscape and keep us outdoors in the depths of the season.
In young adulthood, you imbibed your way past any sense or inhibition, danced yourself into a good lather, and got to kiss your neighbor’s wife at midnight.