-42 Windchill - thinking warm thoughts

I live in the prairies, and as much as I love it for the endless horizon, perfect open sky for star gazing, easy terrain for walking/running, it sucks for weather.

Summer is neater then sucks.  You see nasty thunderheads moving in, a tornado in the very distance, a gust of wind along the prairie grass 5 minutes before it reaches you.  I can find picturesque value in near every setting, but the prairies nothing beats the sunrise.

The winter however… the winters SUCK.

Not only do you not have any buffer, but that prairie wind that was a relief in the summer heat, is now a gale force that flings sharp ice snow in your face like a bunch of razors, and raises that average temperature to -40 (Celsius).

Here in Winter-peg boots made for -50 and grip like that of mountain climbers steel spikes are considered fashionable and relevant.  Those women that chance the teeny boots and stiletto heels… they only do that a couple times lets just say.  Frostbite isn’t pretty… neither is losing your toes for fashion while you wait for the bus.  Save the skirts and heels for when the temp is closer to a balmy -10.

When the nice days come, they are so worth it.  Skating on a frozen pond, sledding, winter hikes.  The sound of winter in the country is comparable to nothing.  It’s this silence and stillness that makes you feel so one with nature.  You can close your eyes and feel the earth breath with you.  Through you.

You can imagine that everything is possible.  Lie in a drift of snow and feel the insulation of the powder around you as you enjoy the season as you once did as a child.

The silence, interrupted by a bird, or the shiver of branches in a distant breeze…

I miss it.  I miss the countryside.

Life is so busy that the little things sometimes get missed until you are literally running away from the world for a small piece of it.

Even in -45 wind-chill as I walked the perilous journey of the downtown canyons that create gusts that ruin a hair do on a good day, I stopped at an eastward separation between buildings to see the sun peeking over the horizon.  I could feel its warmth as my ears burned and my nose numbed.  I could feel the promise of spring, the promise of good things to come; life was only dormant, not dead.

It’s like nature said patience… patience Vanessa, happiness will be yours.