2-26-06 Dead of Winter
Here in New England, there's a hidden sense of masochism attached to any decision to remain in this part of the country through the winter months. I see it all around me in the people I talk to each day. They complain about the weather.
Even though the first day of spring is only three and a half weeks away, this is the point in the winter season where everyone in this part of the country has just about had enough of winter.
I get a sense of impending descent into these cold winter months around the end of November each year, but I'm still riding along that wave of nice weather that preceded it. Then I have the holiday season to distract me all the way through to the beginning of January. That first month of the new year is also distracting to some degree because there's that "new year" feeling.
By the beginning of February, though, nothing is left to distract me from the fact that it's cold outside, everybody around me has been affected by sniffles, at the very least, and the only thing to look forward to is the fact that this is the shortest month of the year. When I get down to the last couple days of February, it's simply the deadest part of the winter. There's no ignoring it.
It's a Sunday morning as I write this, and it's nine a.m. The feeling of not wanting to get out of my pajamas is practically overwhelming. I just want to stay inside all day and lay around.
Why do I suffer through this annual migration through the dead of winter?
Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I like the change of seasons. It isn't so much that I like the winter, the snow, or the cold. It's more along the lines of banging my head against a wall because it feels so good when I stop. It's that sense of crypto-masochism attached to the whole thing.
I lived in Los Angeles for a year. I really enjoyed having weather that I didn't need a coat to go out in all year round. Of course, when the temperature was down in the 50's I would see people in heavy winter clothing outside, while I was ambling around in short sleeved shirts. It was clear to me that if I stayed there for a few years, I'd become accustomed to the warmer weather, and end up like them.
I swam in the pacific ocean on New Year's day 1983. It was beach weather (for me, anyway). It was quite a novelty to me. A couple months later, though, I made the journey back here to New England.
There were various reasons that I came back. Mostly, it wasn't related to a preference for any particular climate. But it helped in the decision that I really did miss the change of seasons.
This morning as I looked out the window I saw a new blanket of snow covering everything. It's very cold outside, only about 20 degrees. But the landscape all around has that fresh white covering of newly fallen snow. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
We had a foot and a half of snow come down from the sky here, only a couple of weeks ago. I had to get out the snowblower and clean it all off from my driveway, brush off the cars, and tidy up the sidewalk. It took a couple of hours. Within a week, though, all that snow had melted away. This morning's new snow is only about a quarter inch. Hardly of any consequence, whatsoever. It'll vanish from the driveway and sidewalk within a couple days, so there's no point in shoveling it or using a broom to sweep it anywhere.
It's the dead of winter, today is Sunday, and I don't have to do anything but lay around all day.
Even though the first day of spring is only three and a half weeks away, this is the point in the winter season where everyone in this part of the country has just about had enough of winter.
I get a sense of impending descent into these cold winter months around the end of November each year, but I'm still riding along that wave of nice weather that preceded it. Then I have the holiday season to distract me all the way through to the beginning of January. That first month of the new year is also distracting to some degree because there's that "new year" feeling.
By the beginning of February, though, nothing is left to distract me from the fact that it's cold outside, everybody around me has been affected by sniffles, at the very least, and the only thing to look forward to is the fact that this is the shortest month of the year. When I get down to the last couple days of February, it's simply the deadest part of the winter. There's no ignoring it.
It's a Sunday morning as I write this, and it's nine a.m. The feeling of not wanting to get out of my pajamas is practically overwhelming. I just want to stay inside all day and lay around.
Why do I suffer through this annual migration through the dead of winter?
Well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I like the change of seasons. It isn't so much that I like the winter, the snow, or the cold. It's more along the lines of banging my head against a wall because it feels so good when I stop. It's that sense of crypto-masochism attached to the whole thing.
I lived in Los Angeles for a year. I really enjoyed having weather that I didn't need a coat to go out in all year round. Of course, when the temperature was down in the 50's I would see people in heavy winter clothing outside, while I was ambling around in short sleeved shirts. It was clear to me that if I stayed there for a few years, I'd become accustomed to the warmer weather, and end up like them.
I swam in the pacific ocean on New Year's day 1983. It was beach weather (for me, anyway). It was quite a novelty to me. A couple months later, though, I made the journey back here to New England.
There were various reasons that I came back. Mostly, it wasn't related to a preference for any particular climate. But it helped in the decision that I really did miss the change of seasons.
This morning as I looked out the window I saw a new blanket of snow covering everything. It's very cold outside, only about 20 degrees. But the landscape all around has that fresh white covering of newly fallen snow. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
We had a foot and a half of snow come down from the sky here, only a couple of weeks ago. I had to get out the snowblower and clean it all off from my driveway, brush off the cars, and tidy up the sidewalk. It took a couple of hours. Within a week, though, all that snow had melted away. This morning's new snow is only about a quarter inch. Hardly of any consequence, whatsoever. It'll vanish from the driveway and sidewalk within a couple days, so there's no point in shoveling it or using a broom to sweep it anywhere.
It's the dead of winter, today is Sunday, and I don't have to do anything but lay around all day.
posted by Jeff Barnard at 9:19 AM
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