by Thea Bailey
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1 November 2019
"UNDER THE ICY SURFACE OF A FROZEN GARDEN POND, PLANTS AND CREATURES ADAPT TO SURVIVE WINTER'S CHILL... It is deepest winter, and the garden pond is buried beneath bleached ground. Sparse stems of robust plants jut through the pure white cover, as though reaching for warmer heights, their remaining leaves brittle and laced with frost. Settled snow hides the pool’s periphery, smoothing the edges as shoreline and surface are blended into uniformity. The pond dozes through a seasonally imposed, cryogenic sleep. Aside the tracks of passing cats and birds pressed into the crisp covering, there is empty desolation. Yet still, life remains; it has just sunken. Below the surface, biological clocks tick and skeleton workforces continue to labour. The upper levels are abandoned. As ponds cool, the life they contain relocates progressively deeper, an exodus from the surface ice to follow. Governing this are changes to the physical properties of water, brought about by the low temperatures. For aquatic life, these changes are essential for survival, as without them, the pond would freeze solid. ". Source: Landscape magazine Jan 2018. As the season changes and the clocks go back, this time of year effects us all. We know Winter is on its way, yet we still find the change a challenge. By embracing the change and looking for the positives it brings, we build up our resilience and become more open to new opportunities and different way of being. "People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy." - Anton Chekhov