Awash in sunlight, my living room is a comforting place to start the day. I like watching robins gobble up berries from a chokeberry shrub outside my window. On one particularly chilly morning, my thoughts drifted to chipmunks. These little foragers love chokeberries too, and yet they vanish in winter. Where did the chipmunks go?
A while ago after seeing the blanket of snow covering the pollinator garden and its “leaved leaves”, I was once again reminded of all the life forms alive and kicking beneath the surface and tucked into old stems.
We’ve all taken cover under a tree for the shade but trees do even more to affect temperatures. Trees “transpire”. They absorb rainwater through their roots and then release it as vapor via the pores on their leaves, cooling the air. Areas with trees can be up to 10 degrees cooler than city streets.
