Now that the holidays are behind us, it's time for another Nature Report.

And now we know why the plants, the fungi (and some of the animals) were in such a hurry back at the start of autumn to get it all done and packed up. Did anyone else also notice that the single digit (in degrees F) deep freeze that also buried most of the northeast in snow, that it all kicked off right after winter solstice? Almost like someone threw a switch or something. Not the first time I've seen that happen.

Otherwise all quiet out there now. That freeze shocked just about all the low lying plant life I can see into dormancy, although I was a bit amazed that some of those anthills that were frozen solid have come back to life again. Nature is one tough cookie.

I'm just glad I don't have to shovel snow.