Bitter Cold
Posted 01-18-2009 at 03:22 PM by elston
It is very cold in Maine...that is understood and is expected. Where I am it has been below zero the past several mornings....and while I realize that this isnt anything in comparison to parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin and the Dakotas....it is bone chilling cold. I know that because the plus side of zero feels warm.
I grew up in New England and was at one time used to "cold"; I was raised to put on a sweater before turning up the themostat; But I moved away to southern California and had lost the Yankee perspective on cold as a way of life. It is starting to come back to me. I am relearning some of the lessons of winter.
Observations: Snow actually squeeks when you walk on it when the weather reaches a certain coldness; the wood in the back deck cracks like a gun shot in the morning when I take the dogs out. It can hurt to breath the air directly in your mouth or nose....it helps to use a scarf or a gloved hand to buffer the shock of zero degree air hitting your 98.6 degree nose. Saying, "I'm just running out to get the mail" is not a real excuse for not putting on a hat or coat and won't won't do a thing to keep you from freezing. You can hang clothes to dry in the cold on a sunny day....but be quick about it and get them hung before the start to freeze stiff...Compost starts to pile up in the compost container....nothing is going on in there!
Another lesson is that extreme cold has a spiritual quality to it.....it is testing and trial but it is also cleansing for the earth...it cuts through to that which is enduring and elemental. The extreme cold locks the ground, lays bare the verdant trees and clears the rampant growth of weeds along the road sides....the Japanese knotweed and the intrusive loose strife are gone....and it challenges our capacity to endure hardship and to dream....winter can cull out the unwarey the foolish, the weak...it is not to be under estimated.
But there is another lesson and that is that deep within the frozen earth and our frozen dreams.....life endures....hope endures...and once the icy grip of winter is past....new life, new hope....can and will grow and blossom once again.
I grew up in New England and was at one time used to "cold"; I was raised to put on a sweater before turning up the themostat; But I moved away to southern California and had lost the Yankee perspective on cold as a way of life. It is starting to come back to me. I am relearning some of the lessons of winter.
Observations: Snow actually squeeks when you walk on it when the weather reaches a certain coldness; the wood in the back deck cracks like a gun shot in the morning when I take the dogs out. It can hurt to breath the air directly in your mouth or nose....it helps to use a scarf or a gloved hand to buffer the shock of zero degree air hitting your 98.6 degree nose. Saying, "I'm just running out to get the mail" is not a real excuse for not putting on a hat or coat and won't won't do a thing to keep you from freezing. You can hang clothes to dry in the cold on a sunny day....but be quick about it and get them hung before the start to freeze stiff...Compost starts to pile up in the compost container....nothing is going on in there!
Another lesson is that extreme cold has a spiritual quality to it.....it is testing and trial but it is also cleansing for the earth...it cuts through to that which is enduring and elemental. The extreme cold locks the ground, lays bare the verdant trees and clears the rampant growth of weeds along the road sides....the Japanese knotweed and the intrusive loose strife are gone....and it challenges our capacity to endure hardship and to dream....winter can cull out the unwarey the foolish, the weak...it is not to be under estimated.
But there is another lesson and that is that deep within the frozen earth and our frozen dreams.....life endures....hope endures...and once the icy grip of winter is past....new life, new hope....can and will grow and blossom once again.
Total Comments 5
Comments
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This winter is a sure test of those who are stong.Posted 01-18-2009 at 04:49 PM by East Coast Wanderer
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Each winter the cold returns and we are again refreshed in its beauty and dazzled by its brilliance as the snow delicately comes down upon the ground, and icicles hang from he gutters to fall like gunshots as they splatter everywhere when they crash to the ground.
I sit in my house, warm as toast and dread to go to the next Doctors appointment, and cant wait til spring arrives, so that I can go and sit on the swing and enjoy life a it springs anew.
A tast of spring is here, as its 60+ today, and I will be on my swing shortly, loving the sun on my face as the gentle breeze blowes through the trees...
May the LORD Bless each of you.
I wish you well...
JessePosted 03-06-2009 at 11:44 AM by woodworkingmenace
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That was beautiful elston!Posted 07-29-2009 at 09:55 PM by carmac
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shall I long for today, or shall I long for winter? Your words on winter sorely tempt me to wish today's beauty away...you rascal! 
Posted 08-07-2010 at 05:15 PM by maureenb
