February 25, 2005
Late winter ramble
Having spent a lot of my life living in either Vermont or Minnesota, people often assume I love winter. And I do kind of like winter, but love is too strong a word.
Really, what has happened for me is that long winters with lots of snow and subzero temperatures have become normal. I thought about that the other night when I went out to "plug in" our diesel truck. It was a beautifully clear night, but it was supposed to get down to 10 below zero, so I had to go out and plug in the heating block on the truck's engine so that it would start in the a.m. when I needed it. As I looked at the stars, I thought, "People who live in Georgia probably aren't plugging in their trucks tonight."
But as Maryellen says, that is why there is chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. I know one thing for sure, I infinitely prefer the winters we have up here to the winters we had in southern New England. There, it would be cold enough to be unpleasant, but never really cold or snowy enough to have a prolonged real winter. At least up here, with several feet of snow on the ground, we can go sledding, and snow shoeing, and cross country skiing, and the mountains look beautiful, and you know what you are dealing with.
The reason I have been thinking about this is because late winter is a funny sub-season up here. The days start to lengthen, the mercury stays above zero more, and the sun feels so much stronger and warmer. And each year, while I am looking forward to spring and summer about now, I also find myself dealing with a note of remorse. I think to myself, "Boy, I can't believe winter is slipping away. I wish I had made more time for sledding and snow shoeing and skiing and drinking hot chocolate this past year."
But I suppose before I know it, that sense of dread that hits in late fall will be back, and I will be wondering how we are going to make it through another winter. So I will enjoy what we've got today, and get ready for spring.
Posted by peter at February 25, 2005 08:12 AMHi Peter, nice thoughts. My wife Zoe sent me a link to your page. As horrid as -20 and -30 sometimes is. I always get a little excited about such raw conditions. It makes me feel so alive when I go outside and feel the skin freeze. Yes, this sort of love can only come from the evolution that occurs within oneself when he has spent his pre-teen years as a poor bastard delivering newspapers year-round at 5:30 AM in Northern Vermont. The older I get, the more I love the moment as it seems to slip away faster each day. Peace, Neil (Nice looking greenhouse)
Posted by: Neil Favreau at February 25, 2005 02:24 PMBoy, I can remember those southern New England winters near the Sound: rain, sleet and maybe some snow, but mostly grayness and bone-chilling dampness.
Winter in NYC is more engaging, battling winds that come around the corner, after gaining velocity by bouncing off skyscrapers. Over here by the river, I've literally been stopped in my tracks momentarily by the wind.
And when the snow comes, maintenance people race around with blowers and shovels and salt to make the snow on sidewalks disappear as fast as possible.
What's most startling, when there's been a healthy snowfall, is seeing the plows pile up huge mounds of snow at the corners, followed by the front end loaders attacking the mounds and filling huge trucks, which then hustle off to dump the snow in the river. All this to get rid of snow that would probably melt away in a few days. Go figure!
Posted by: Mike, pgg's dad at February 26, 2005 06:04 AM