Winter is the season that most tests our mettle. The psychological burdens of waiting for spring under gray skies compound the challenges of freezing rain, wind chill, deep snow, and dangerous ice. Despite winter’s harshness, there is plenty of beauty and life in the woods if only we know where to look. The stark, white landscape sparkles in the sunshine and glows beneath the moon on crisp, clear nights; bare branches make it easy to see long distances; birds flock to feeders; and animals—even those that should be hibernating—make surprise visits from time to time. Appalachian Winter offers acclaimed naturalist Marcia Bonta’s account of one season as experienced on and around her 650-acre home on the westernmost ridge of the hill-and-valley landscape that dominates central Pennsylvania.
