I Love Winter

Over the past few winters, Ginger and I really started to consider the idea of flying south for the season.  It's just been miserable here and cabin fever has run wild.  Yet, with this latest snow, I have realized a personal truth; I love winter.

I always knew I enjoyed cold weather and all things associated with it.  But, I never really had that talk with myself, "You know, I think I really love winter. What do you think self?  Well, I would say that you are correct.  Winter is one of your seasons".   And that's pretty much the conversation I had this evening.

But why would it hit me today and not in the past?  Because this was winter; not that wet, dark mess of a season we usually get.  And to top it off,  I had time to take it all in.

During the most recent snowfall, I happened to be home for a stretch.  Anticipating the event, seeing it begin, and watching everything become softly frozen made my mind come alive.  As the fine crystals fell everything was touched.  Inch upon inch transformed the world revealing opportunities of circumstance.  Overnight an earthen bank became a sledding run, a road a hiking trail, and a deck an aviary.

Birds of every flock created a circus outside our window.  Somewhere in the shadows of the feathered community nervous excitement swirled.  Word on the twig was that the same guy from years past was handing out food to any bird (except Starlings) in need of a meal.  Before long, a line formed around the clouds.  The grain kitchen was open.

Some were anxious to eat while others held back until the feeling of safety or unbearable hunger enveloped them.  In either case, they soon realized I expected nothing in return but to watch them live.  It was a fair trade.

Getting comfortable with one another I even sat beside them as they engorged themselves. Early in the morning I would find myself outside watching and listening.  A cover of snow changes the sound and feel of everything.

Currents of air through the forest, soft thumps of snow falling to earth from branches, and the distant sharp call of Sandhill Cranes heading north pulled me from my world into another.  It was a place few today care to experience.

Avoiding the cold external reality, most would rather sit in the warmth of their home. Myself, I would be just as happy sitting on an outcrop in the woods listening the to call of a Red Bellied Woodpecker and the chatter of squirrels as they chase about the trees.  A subtle coolness permeating my clothes would make everything feel more alive; a filter of sorts, the sensation leaving only the most intense characteristics to be experienced.

Walking along, kicking up snow, everything has drawn a picture just for you. Almost magical, as if from the mind of a child, the images created are simple, gray, and white yet explode upon the senses like the sound of chocolate and the texture of happiness. You'll remember them forever.

So, who cares if it adds to the drudgery of daily life? Some things should not be missed, and winter is one of them.