ostarella | Thoughts on winter... (Reply)

I spent more time out in the yard this weekend, taking advantage of a few last, unexpected days of relative warmth to finish preparing the yard and outbuildings for the oncoming winter. As the last remnants of leaves are cleaned up and the summer's equipment cleaned and stored away, the yard is looking neat and tidy - and barren. I look around now and see all that lay hidden in the summer flowers - the gardens that need defining, the stumps that need removing, shrubs whose branches need trimming. Items added to the winter To-Do list, more added to next year's spring and summer chores. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to see the yard tidy, though. At the same time, I'm starting to look forward to the snow. Bleak and boring as the flat Midwestern landscape is during the winter, there is nothing worse than that same landscape sans snow. It doesn't seem natural. Even more barren, if that's possible. And then we face the dichotomy of hopeless fantasy that spring is not so far off and the dire expectation of waking to the Mother of All Blizzards. So I hope for snow soon, so the fantasy is laid to rest, and I can move into the cocoon of a normal Minnesota winter. At least then I can trek outside to clear the walks and drive and feed the birds and squirrels, proud of that hearty Norwegian heritage that allows me to feel invigorated through the freezing cold.

And hope, yet again, that next year I'll be parking this Norwegian ass on the beaches of the Gulf...