About Winter

Lets start with a flavour of winter with this wonderful video!

Winter lasts from December -March in the Northern Hemisphere, the upper half of the Earth, and from June-September in the Southern Hemisphere, the Earth’s lower half.

The name comes from an old Germanic word which means’ time of water’, and Jock certainly knows all about the rain, sleet and snow of Bennachie’s winters!

The Earth orbits round the Sun, taking 365 days to make its trip right around. While the Earth is orbiting the Sun it is tilted on its axis. During winter the Earth is tilted away from the Sun.

All this means that the Sun’s rays have further to travel before they reach the Earth’s surface. As it takes longer, the hours of daylight are shorter and the temperature is colder.

Many trees survive by losing their leaves and lying dormant, or inactive. Some animals like hedgehogs enter a deep sleep called hibernation to help them save energy to survive the cold months. Others, like pine martens, stay warm thanks to their thick winter coats. Some creatures like meadow pipits will move down from the top of Bennachie to farmland. Others like swallows migrate, or move to warmer climates.

In winter, legend has it that Jock spends much more time in his warm secret cave hidden on the slopes of Bennachie. On especially cold nights he often has a skulk of foxes (a group of foxes) to keep him company, warming his feet with their big fluffy tails!