The autumn twilight turned into deep and early night as they walked. Tristran could smell the distant winter on the air—a mixture of night-mist and crisp darkness and the tang of fallen leaves…. the crescent moon hung white in the sky and the stars burned in the darkness above them. – Neil Gaiman, Stardust

Nature looks dead in winter because her life is gathered into her heart. She withers the plant down to the root that she may grow it up again fairer and stronger. She calls her family together within her inmost home to prepare them for being scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. – Hugh Macmillan, “Rejuvenescence,” The Ministry of Nature, 1871

One faire day in winter makes not birds merrie. – Witts Recreations: Selected from the Finest Fancies of Modern Muses, with A Thou

Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition. – Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966