We’ve just passed winter solstice, with many people celebrating the passing of the shortest day and light slowly returning to our world in incrementally longer days. There’s an element of triumph associated with the solstice—we made it through the darkest days of the year. What’s often missed is that these cold, dark days are an important component in sustaining our health and the health of all living things. Right now in Minnesota, the landscape looks dead. The trees are devoid of leaves and the fields are crispy and brown with dried leaves, grasses, and wildflowers of last summer. However, the trees and grasses aren’t dead but are in a kind of suspended animation. Yes, their leaves are gone, but there’s still life in the roots and core of each plant. This dormant period is a time for plants to stop growing for a while, take a rest, and conserve energy so …