Winter weather arrived this week. We’ll see if it stays.
I’ve written previously about the opportunities winter offers in the region, even as many curse the snow and the cold. A friendly acquaintance will often drop me an email after a snow storm, saying something to the effect of “You must be happy about this!”
On the whole, yes, I’m happy. I think the changing of the seasons is part of the charm of living in these hills. I welcome the bracing air when I walk outside, though I still have not had the opportunity to break in the snowshoes I bought a couple years ago. Maybe soon.
Winter, snow and all, enhances the celebrations that take place this time of year. C’mon — who wouldn’t prefer a white blanket over a serene holiday scene? Colorful lights on houses and trees are much better set off against a background of snow than by the greenish-brown of a hibernating lawn.
Think of Christmas carolers. They should be bundled up in coats, hats and scarves, warming themselves with cups of hot chocolate or cider — not singing outside our doors in shorts and Hawaiian shirts.
Well, in Hawaii, sure. But not here.
My email this week contained a reminder from a state agency about responsible snowmobiling. I’m happy for the local snowmobilers that there’s snow on the ground. I hope it sticks around so they can enjoy their sport. I have several friends whose expensive sleds have sat in garages or sheds, getting about as much use as my snowshoes have.
We ran a photo in the paper this week of children sledding — a timeless activity that is usually accompanied by joyful noises. Winter allows that to happen, too.
While fueling my vehicle this morning — four-wheel-drive with studded snow tires because, you know, winter — a friendly guy on the other side of the pumps made conversation about the frosty wind that was whipping us. He wasn’t a fan. I told him I don’t mind the cooler weather. He commented, “You must have grown up around here.” I confirmed that, and wondered to myself if those formative years played a part in my current attitude toward weather.
I remember sledding the biggest hills we could get to, Boy Scout campouts that included winter hikes and other outdoor activities in all seasons, snowball fights and more. It was fun. Lots of fun.
I will admit, however, that driving in the snow is not fun. This week’s storm created conditions that were downright hazardous. I worked from home one day because, after starting out for the office and seeing cars sliding toward ditches in front of me, I decided not to try descending one of our local mountains.
Four-wheel drive and studded tires are great for getting up hills. They don’t help much going down.
I wonder sometimes, and I mentioned this to my new friend at the gas pump, how we ever got around in the snow in the rear-wheel-drive vehicles that were the standard before the 1980s.
Sometimes, we didn’t.
Our local road crews are good at their jobs, though, so we soon had the best of both worlds — a nice cover of snow where it belongs and roads without it.
Yes, winter has its place. There’s less of it than there used to be, and maybe that adds to the appreciation some of us harbor for it. I’ll freely admit that the novelty of early winter gives way after a while, to a longing for something different, something warmer and easier.
And, like it always does, spring will take winter’s place. But until that happens, I urge you to remember this quote, the author of which I am unable to find:
“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy but still the same amount of snow.”