A time for rest and recuperation and hibernation

Plus: A buggy Christmas; personal urination devices; the world's most expensive sand; flowering jade

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling rather burned out recently.

I made it to the end of the year, but only just, scraping by on minimal self-care and productivity. Traveling to Maine for the holiday, having the days between Christmas and New Year’s off from work—that helped. We went jogging on the beach, and hiked to a waterfall; I painted some watercolors of the marsh, and we ate delicious food.

I can explain.

But it wasn’t enough. Even now, I feel overwhelmingly meh. Not sick-sick, but not not-sick, either. Unwell.

You know when the edge of your heel dries out and cracks like a dry lake bed? Moisturizing overnight will help soften the top layer of skin, but it won’t solve the problem. You need a more robust treatment plan, time, and patience.

In any case, a few days of smearing Aquaphor on my wounds (metaphorically speaking) wasn’t enough to cure my burnout. So I have been skeptical, reluctant, avoidant, even, about all the goals- and resolutions-setting associated with this time of year. I just haven’t felt like it, thanks!

I don’t think I’m alone…I’ve seen plenty of others saying on social media that winter is a time for rest and recuperation and hibernation, and that they’re saving their aspirations and transformations for a more appropriate season, like spring. Others are saying we should stop making new year resolutions altogether.

To the extent that I have set goals and resolutions, the overarching theme is to go a bit easier on myself this year, and especially right now. Maybe you can relate?

There are frogs, too.

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Reading list

• Last year, a group of wealthy property owners in Salisbury, Massachusetts, spent $565,000 on sand to protect their properties. After it washed away (within days!) they said they hoped the state would pony up for the next pile of sand. Well, last month the the state came through—with a whopping $2 million. Incredibly, it seems as though state government officials think this is a *proactive* approach to battling climate change:

  State Senator Bruce Tarr said using projects like this one to get ahead of climate crises before they happen. “We have two choices: We can either be victims of what’s happening around us with regard to increasing sea levels and climate change or we can be proactive and be good stewards of the environment.”

  Tarr said the residents he talks [to] are united behind the idea of working to find solutions. “It’s important that we don’t wait for a storm; we don’t wait for erosion; we’re not standing out here in the middle of a blizzard trying to save homes under very difficult circumstances.”

  Actually, sir, I think that may be exactly what you’re doing?

• On snow: “We see places like New Hampshire turning into places like New Jersey, which is a bit hard to swallow”

• Sweden’s 2025 wolf hunt started on Thursday; by the end of the day, 10 wolves were already dead

• A mother’s grief

• “The Insects’ Christmas”

• I’m generally fine with squatting but I’ll try anything once

• Living the dream

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And, for paying subscribers, my 2025 in/out list, which I am doing my absolute best to present without commentary, even though it’s so hard for me.