It’s been a while since I have really experienced the true splendour of winter. Sure we get snow in Southwestern Ontario but it comes in small proportion and without warning disappears in a single breath. Winters at home are dirty depressing sessions of slush and despair. Winters at home pale in comparison to my childhood memories of Inverhuron. It is until recent that I have recalled those days of my youth.
The memories of snow up to the window sills and drifts up to the eaves had left me. Memories of sliding down cottage roofs into the snow and walking back up and doing it again, family visitors that would get stranded for days and the night time snowmobiling outings with my mom and dad had been filed deep into my memory bank. I had not forgotten those days but I really have had no recent reason to conjure them up. As I type this I am looking out the window into a winter wonderland.
The Blue jays and Woodpeckers are exchanging blows over suet while the Nuthatches and Chickadees spell each other off at the seed feeders. The tree branches are all adorned in 6" of last night’s dumping. The banks lining the driveway are 3-4ft high and the snow in the bush has to be 2 ft. The stark beauty of winter is present here in grand form as I remember it from my youth.
We ventured out on the snowmobile trails earlier this morning and were pleasantly greeted with freshly groomed trails. The surrounding forests were blanketed with white. A comforting sense of pristine isolation and stellar beauty set over me and we meandered our way through the woods of the Manistee National Forest.
I had completely forgotten how wonderful winter can be. I had forgotten the beauty and the utter calm that can unfold. Too many years have passed since I really have enjoyed what winter has to offer.
Winter is a time to slow down. A time to enjoy the simpler things in life. A time to forget about the hurry up and wait regime of everyday. A time to look for subtleties. A time to forget multitasking and cramming it all in. A time to relax and enjoy the fruits of ones labours.
I'm glad I have been blessed to be here and have this opportunity. I'm as equally glad that I come to realize it's about enjoying where you are in life more than chasing after where you are going.
I've done a lot of chasing the past 40 years...time to relax and enjoy.
4 comments:
Nice, I came up with the same thoughts last winter while lugging my gear through the Pinery when I started snowshoeing. Can't beat getting away from the day to day stuff we need to do to pay the bills.
You are POS
Very nice. This actually warmed me up. I guess if you don't consider winter a time to step back and "chill out" from life's stress, then lord help me cause it is near impossible to slow down spring, summer or fall.
This makes me want to buy snowmobiles. Great blog.
The Average Joe Fisherman
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