Sleeping life

It is the flowers’ nighttime . . .

In many parts of the world it is winter, and the ground lies cold and
hard beneath snow and frost. The sleeping trees are brown and bare. The
dry, dead stems of last year’s plants shiver in the cold wind.

But under the snow and in the frozen ground are millions of seeds,
underground stems, and roots that will be next summer’s plants. Each
seed is a package of life, with a tiny plant and a store of food inside
it. On the roots and stems are buds, and each bud is the heart of a
sleeping plant. A little warmth, a taste of water, and the plants will
awake again.

And down in the ground, or snuggled beneath the snow-covered leaves,
summer animals—chipmunks, frogs, ants, spiders —are sleeping, too.
Like the plants, the animals are also waiting for warmth and life to
come back to the land.