When I was finalizing my decision about moving to Colorado a year ago, I can distinctly remember a particular conversation I had with one of my “sailing uncles”, one of my older friends who are also a sort of father figure for me. I was telling him that I just craved walking in the snow-covered woods. And he replied, “Well, then, I think your decision is made”.
I don’t know where that craving in me was coming from, but it’s still present and getting satisfied and rewarded now. We’re getting one of the most beautiful winter days I’ve seen yet.
Yesterday evening it snowed heavily again. And then overnight the temperatures plummeted to well beneath freezing (-20 degrees Celsius or -10 degrees Fahrenheit!). And today it’s sunny. Actually so cold and sunny that the rare (at these latitudes) phenomenon of “sun halo“ can be observed! Everything is coated in a soft, puffy white layer and the light is so bright that everything is glowing. It’s like everything is more alive than ever and rejoicing in this winter liveliness.
I absolutely love the full range of seasons we get here in Colorado! I love the dry heat of the summer, being outdoors and sweating it all out or having to simply slow down in the hottest hours and then come alive at night and/or in the very early morning; I love the explosion of colors and smells in the spring, the flowers bursting, the birds chirping, the squirrels running around and mating; I love the palettes of colors in the autumn, that quiet liveliness shining through the reds and oranges and yellows against the clear blue sky; and I love the winter, the dry cold, the frost, the bright sunshine reflected off the snow as well as the quiet, dark days, the dark snow-storm clouds, the long and cozy evenings — I like both being outdoors and indoors in this type of winter weather.
I know this cold is scary and can be a nuisance. I know there’s lots of risks involved with it when I’m going on my outdoor adventures in the mountains or even just trail running in the snow and icy weather. I know that my car might not start tomorrow and that it will be a hell of a job to get it clean from the pile of snow. Just as I knew how risky it was to be outdoors in the summer heat. And yet, I truly love this all. It reminds me of all the weather variations I experienced when I was growing up and living in Europe and makes up for the “flattening out of the weather” in California.
And it makes me feel so alive!
The Little Prince and the Fox 