Winter has decided to give us a reprieve. It's a rather balmy 3 or 4 degress Celsius (somewhat under 40F), but it's sunny and rather nice. It's so nice that people are out in droves: so much so that our usual parking area at the local park was full.
Yup, all sorts of folk were out walking and enjoying the day and offering lots of friendly greetings and warm smiles. Nobody is getting too carried away because winter can hardly be over; spring is not yet just around the corner. In fact, we are almost guaranteed a few more storms and perhaps another deep freeze or two, but we learn to take what we can get and enjoy it when we can.
If you're asking whether this is the same guy who enjoys winter, I answer in the affirmative. But come February, one also begins to look forward to the next season. While I know we're not even close to being there, I can't help but enjoy this harbinger of times to come.
I guess this is all very Canadian, eh: thinking that 3C is really great; enjoying winter; looking forward to the end of winter? Something else that is very Canadian is skating or playing hockey on an outdoor pond or rink. They were doing that today as we rounded to pond on our walk, and I paused to take this snapshot. No serious photography here: just sharing dads and kids enjoying the day together. Quintessentially Canadian is what it is.
I'm convinced that parts of northern New England share more with Canadians than our own countrymen to the south of, say, Massachusetts. :)
ReplyDeleteThe picture in this post immediately took me back to my youth and many winter days of clearing a patch of ice on Horse Pond for a pick-up game of hockey. The frozen runny noses, the cramped and cold toes in the hand-me-down skates, the shifting goal posts marked simply by a single boot at the outer corners, and the taped-wrapped blade of my Bobby Orr signature stick. Ah, and the promise of a warm fireplace and hot chocolate as wet mittens and wool socks hung nearby... those hanging closest to the fire yielding wisps of steam.