The full snow-moon will light the frigid nights with a white glow. It may bring dancing flakes of new snow. It may bring coyote love songs and owl serenades.

Indigenous people often referred to the month of February as the snow moon month. In Michigan, February holds the record for being the snowiest month!

Old time Yoopers know this all too well. February meant shoveling off roofs. Snowbanks up to our necks, snow scoops and little room left to pile snow. When family cars still had antennas, little red flags were tied to the top or little orange Styrofoam balls placed on them to make the car more visible at intersections.

Just as the minutes of daylight increase, big blizzards can bear down in an instant. The full February snow moon should illuminate the sky this weekend.

My snowshoes are ready to take on the snow-moon.

This winter has so far been like the winters of days of old. Our ground has been covered with white since Thanksgiving and this is good for the wildlife that turns white like the snowshoe hares, the weasels and ermines.

As the inches of snow increase it means more thermal cover for wild plants and wild animals like the grouse, voles and mice.

And of course, all those annoying snowdrifts will be important for our lake levels and ground water tables next summer.

So, we must respect the snow moon and enjoy its sparkling show on the blankets of snow and on the ice-capped rivers and lakes.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the snow-moon is on a pair of snowshoes. A snowshoe hike under the stars and between the barren black arms of the hardwoods is an awesome experience. As you stare up at the moon and the stars you feel so very small in such a big world. You also feel an amazing tranquility among the trees.

Karen Rose Wils

Winter is not over yet, no matter what the groundhog might say on February second. U.P. groundhogs, better known as woodchucks, don’t come out of their holes in February. They stay sleeping cozy and warm beneath the snowy ground.

The snowy owl and the snowshoe hare are animals of the snow moon. Snowy owls leave the arctic tundra at this time of year and migrate south in search of food and often visit Michigan.

The snowshoe hare is a year-round resident of the U.P. She turns ghostly white in the winter and when the snow moon glistens off the frosty ground, the hare is an ice princess safely tucked under the cedars and pines.

Dress in warm layers and watch for the full snow moon.

All I heard was a frigid breeze,

Whistling and crying high in the trees.

Then blinding snow erased the sky,

Twigs and pinecones fly.

Cedars and pines wear wigs of white,

A canopy of snow is a powerful sight!