Pale then enkindled,

light

advancing,

emblazing

summits of palm and pine

The dew

lingering

scripture of

scintillas by Denise Levertov

Three January breaths include New Year’s, winter, and increasing light. All of them are packed into the month where nothing much appears to be happening.

The holiday festivals and frenetic times are over. Now, the true winter season reaches its peak, and we gain 56 minutes of light from January 1 to 31.

The non-hibernating wildlife world in January faces multiple challenges to meet their bare necessities of life: food, water, shelter. The resident birds not only give up territory claims and song; multiple avian species will also feed and flock together to promote safety in numbers. While there may be pushing and shoving at the backyard bird feeder, no one wants to fight in 15-degree temperatures.

The eagles have returned to the Columbia River Gorge, and the Bald Eagle Festival continues today, Sunday, January 22 at The Dalles Dam. Down the road in Lyle, Washington, we’ve spotted 90 happy eagles at Balfour Park enjoying a Coho bonanza as the salmon have returned to the Klickitat River to spawn.

While bird migrations lie a few months down the road, gray while migrations are in full swim. The early days of January are considered the best times to see whales heading south to their Baja breeding grounds, yet the 50-foot leviathans are spotted the entire month.

Last week 3 dead whales washed up along the Oregon Coast. One was a sperm whale that collided with a ship. All three whales will feed countless creatures for a long period of time. Perhaps the newly released California condors of northern California will find reason to return to Oregon to scavenge the whales.

We are experiencing wacky January weather all over the U.S., especially in California. We had a bit of snow today in the Columbia River Gorge, and botanists two days ago already discovered the first wild blooms of the year, the salt and pepper plant and the colorful grass widow.

We should be careful not to rush our first month. We want this year to slow down, to not rush by (please) like 2022. We want to have time to eagle watch, delight in discovering early wildflowers, feel and revel in the “emblazing light,” and ensure many memorable moments with family and friends. ~