Winter preparation in the wild...and in my home.

As fall is upon us and the weather turns colder, animal and humans alike begin their winter preparation. And you might be surprised as to how similar our preparations are. You may think that you have nothing in common with that squirrel you see scavenging for nuts, but you do. At least, I know I do.

Do you need some examples? Yes, I'm sure you do. And it's your lucky day because I have quite a few examples for you right here.

First, let me start by saying that there are 3 main things that animals in the wild do to prepare for the cold, long winter months. Those are adapt, hibernate, or migrate.

Now I'll get into specifics.

Adapt:

Many animals grow new, thicker fur to prepare for the drop in temperature. I do the same. On my legs. Solely to prepare for the temperature change. WHAT? That is why. It has nothing to do with sheer laziness and the fact that my legs are covered by my pants on a daily basis.

Animals also grow an extra layer of body fat. As do I. DUH. It's clearly the smarter way to stay warm. You don't want to go cranking up the heat and paying higher electric bills, do you?

Animals such as honeybees and squirrels store extra food for the winter. Watch out Costco, here I come!

Hibernation:

Animals like bears, raccoons, and groundhogs hibernate during the winter. Many others become inactive or dormant, which is similar to hibernation, although they do venture out in warmer temps. Animals that become dormant spend most of their time in the fall eating extra food to prepare for the inactive winter months.

Ummmm, sounds about right to me. Someone's gotta eat all this pumpkin crap.

Migration:

Finally, some animals migrate to warmer climates in the winter. Honestly, these are the animals that have it all figured out. Flying south to warmer weather during the cold, snowy winter sounds like the absolute best option of all. Doesn't it?

Sadly, for folks like me who are strapped down with kids and job, it just doesn't work out. Therefore, my only options are to adapt and hibernate. It's simple science.

My body obviously knows what to do and I think I need to trust it. And right now it is telling me that a pumpkin spice muffin is the way to go. It's all about survival, right? 

 

Disclosure: This post is in no way endorsed by companies that make pumpkin spice muffins. However, I would always be willing to accept them as a "thank you" for providing my readers with this useful winter preparation info.