I’m Going to
Make It
I’m
going to make it. Each winter seems
worse than the one before. I know it
can’t all be blamed on climate change. I
know it’s partially my aging. The older
I get, the more I dislike winter. I’d
gladly take an eternal Fall, where jeans and a fleece top would comfortably get
you through the day.
But I
can feel the turn for this winter. I see
the days slowly lengthening. An
extension of sunshine is like a bottle of water to a desert trekker. In fact, lack of sun is probably the worst
part of winter. It’s compounded by being
a shift worker. I’m getting up in the
dark… working for several hours before the day breaks… and still working when
sunset occurs. I can literally go weeks
with no need of sunglasses. My walk
across the complex to the cafeteria being my only point in the work day where
I’m out in daylight.
I’m
still going to and from work in the dark, but it’s getting closer. Sunset now occurs near the end of my work
day, rather than several hours before.
That extra light brings hope.
And
now I know I’m through the worst of it.
Currently on my hibernation holiday (what I’ve taken to calling my
February block off work), I can wake to the light outside and go out
snowshoeing or walking whenever I see fit.
And a week after I return to work, I’ll be off again. Heading for the sunny south to visit the
parents in Florida. My first trip there
in more than thirty years.
When
Florida ends, I know Spring will be in the air.
Major League Baseball will be in the sports headlines. Days will be longer still. Temperatures will be regularly above
zero. And the snow will be melting a bit
more each day.
So,
in a way, my winter will only last another week. Yes, there’ll be snowy days in March. But it will come with the knowledge that it’s
temporary. Soon to melt away.
And
between Florida and the coming Spring, I’m left to think of the return of those
things I’ve missed.
An
odd one to say, but I miss moisture.
Winter dries the world up. My
skin gets itchy and my nose is in a constant state of congestion.
I
miss grass. The green carpet across the
land. A miniature jungle that hides the
crickets and frogs from view, bringing them out of hiding when I walk through
my lawns, shuffling along so as not to squash them.
I
miss the water. Ponds and creeks draw
all in. Frogs, fish, the beaver,
kingfishers, and even neighbours Labrador Retrievers are all swimming about or
diving into the water. The ripples of
dancing insects and reflections of shore side trees bring an aesthetic that’s
completely missing during the winter months.
I
miss the leaves. There’s a beauty to the
stark winter forest, but I miss the walls of vegetation that summer growth
offers. Birds dart in and out,
disappearing from view but yet still heard singing and chirping behind the
green veil.
I
miss those birds. Winter still gives us
woodpeckers and chickadees, but I miss the robins bouncing across the lawns,
looking for lunch. I miss the
yellowthroats and finches coming and going and chirping all over.
I
miss my backyard. In winter, the yard is
viewed only from my window, a snowy barren landscape. In summer it becomes another room, a place to
sit, BBQ, relax in the hammock or, as was the case last year… a place to
surrender to robin parents, looking to bring up a family.
So
it’s coming. I’m going to survive the
winter and make it to the return of the sun.
But until that day I’ll return to my hibernation, only willing to
venture out when the conditions are right and I can continue my search for video
or photographic evidence of the elusive coyote.
THURSDAY…
---
Dayshift but I’m off sick. I think it’s
something I ate Wednesday. Went to bed
needing a tums… woke only a couple hours later wanting more… woke twice more,
the last time at 3:30 in the morning. Up
for good at that point but not fit for work.
---
By supper time I’m feeling more normal again.
FRIDAY…
---
Still not feeling perfect in the morning.
Stomach is touchy. Lunch seems to
help though and after that I feel back to normal.
SATURDAY…
---
Nightshift alone. Fairly quiet
night. Not a lot of work comes through.
SUNDAY…
---
Another quiet night. More so than the
previous one. The nice thing about work
on the weekend.
MONDAY…
---
First day of a hibernation time for me.
I’ve gotten into the habit, the last few winters, of taking some time
off work with absolutely no plans whatsoever.
So I have the next twelve days to do with as I see fit. Today, I do pretty much nothing. The weather is touchy and I’m a bit run down
from work so it’s pretty much a recoup day.
TUESDAY…
---
Snowshoeing. Out for a little more than
an hour. I don’t bring my GoPro camera
and, it turns out, this was a mistake. I
come across what I see as fairly fresh coyote tracks. I assume he had been out and about on this
trail in the morning while I’m out there in the late afternoon. Along the way I see some blood in the snow
where it looks like the coyote would have pinned and killed a small animal,
picking it up and moving it some before laying it down again. As I’m going I see the occasional blood spot
in the snow, as if dripping from something in the coyotes mouth. All the time I’m figuring this happened five
or six hours earlier… until I look up and see the coyote dart around a corner
some hundred feet ahead of me. When I
get to that same corner, I look up ahead in the direction he went… and again
see the coyote a few hundred feet ahead this time. I go slow, keeping an eye about me, in case
he worked his way around me, and I see a final sign where he bounded off the
trail, into the snow and through the woods.
--- I
get to a field and, from there, see a half dozen wild turkeys a hundred yards
across the way. They’re actually up in
trees and fly a short distance when they see me there.
---
On the way back I see three mourning doves just sitting in a tree about six
feet away. I stop, but they just sit
there. I don’t bother to take out my
phone for a picture… assuming the movement would spook them and figuring the
background would cause them to blend in too much for a good shot anyway. But regardless, between it all, I wish I had
the GoPro with me today.
WEDNESDAY…
---
An early afternoon shopping spree. To
Bearbrook meat farm for some stuff for the freezer… Sobeys for the day to day
groceries… then Canadian Tire for some driveway salt, a driveway ice scraper,
and a new ice scraper for the car.
---
Back out snowshoeing in the afternoon.
Again for little beyond an hour.
This time with the GoPro. No
animals whatsoever. Not even any fresh
coyote tracks. Always the way.
--- I
decide to snowshoe back across the ponds rather than through the trails. I see there have been skidoos on them so
figure the ice would be thick enough for me.
Especially considering how cold the last few weeks have been. All the same, a third the way along the
second pond, the ice gives way under one of my feet. I stayed close to shore anyway and no the
water there would be shallow, and catch myself before getting wet at all and
veer in the ten feet to the shoreline to finish the job. Just shows you never know with ice.
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