SAD -- Seasonal Affective Disorder. SAD is a seasonally recurring depression, usually appearing in November and lasting until April. It is caused by a lack of sunlight. Symptoms include feelings of sadness, anxiety, lethargy, difficulties awakening in the morning, drowsiness during the day, social withdrawal and weight gain (sounds like many people that I know, none in our bonsai society, or course). The cure is to have the patient sit facing banks of artificially bright lights for several hours each day for about two weeks. If you are SAD I suggest the following alternative treatments:

Grow bonsai indoors under artificial lights.

If you are already growing trees under artificial lights place your head under the lights for a few minutes each day. Enjoy the light while you take time to communicate with your trees.

Water your bonsai. Although we have watered our plants all summer, remember they also need moisture now especially if they are wintered in your garage. If they are stored elsewhere be sure that they are moist when placed in storage.

Read books on bonsai.

Clean and sharpen all your bonsai tools. I promise (for the fifth year in a row, without having done so) to not only sharpen my tools but will also remove the carefully acquired patina (called rust by those who don’t know any better).

Set up a filing system for all your trees.

Wire your pines during the winter.

Purchase needed supplies for spring repotting and wiring.

Study your trees, even while they are dormant, and think about how to style them in the spring.

So you see there, is no reason to be SAD.

O Winter’s a beautiful time of the year.

There’s frost on the hills,

There’s snow in the air.

The buds are all still,

The boughs are all bare. Enid Blyton