It's just something we do, but some years it’s fleeting. Hesitation means the day is lost until next spring. It had to be today. Today had the perfect balance.
In January, the snow has creep...if it tumbles onto the roadway it stays there and spreads, forming a hard pack. In March, snow hitting the road meets the same fate as the Wicked Witch -- it evaporates leaving behind its pointy little hat and broomstick.We've had three days of clear skies and pounding sunshine. Snow is still piled from Monday's blizzard, but the high March sun is unrelenting. Everything drips during the day, refreezes at night, only to get soggy again the next day. Creeks are open and running.
We've been off skis for weeks, but today we hit Carver Park in the AM for a few sloppy loops -- after months of perfecting graceful skating technique this winter, we’re now each a mass of flopping sticks and skis. Snow in the sunshine of meadows is different from snow under the trees...skis stick then glide stick stick glii iii ide making consistent balance difficult. Any uphill struggles were accompanied by exhalations and flailing arms.
Temps reached 36 today, but five feet above the snow it felt like 70. It was a sauna under those black ski clothes -- perfect for tipping over into a snowbank and dropping-off into a snooze.But we didn’t. We had cycling to do next. With the open streams, kayaking would have been third on the list...hmmmm, don't have a kayak yet....
It's the spring handoff.
- and now The Old Bag needs a nap!
* thanks to Mark for the pics *
5 comments:
Look at all the snow! Evidently, a few degrees in latitude makes a huge difference. Time to get out your Flexible Flyer and slide!
You'll see green and flowers before we do -- amazing how a few hours south means spring comes weeks earlier.
BUT, NO MORE FLEXIBLE FLYER! That time is over...dammit!
:-]
Down on my flexible flyer
To the bottom how fast i would go
Just waiting for me under the tree
And out in the snow
A cowboy, a nurse or a fireman
There's so many things that you can be
You can set bigger goals, but set your soul
Yeah, set your soul free
Times, places and situations
Lead to an early grave
When we get there we see
Just what did we save?
If your heart is a flame burning brightly
You'll have light and you'll never be cold
And soon you will know that you just grow
You're not growing old
If the wheels of your wagon are rusty
You can paint them until they are new
You can roll down a hill, but if you can't
Then i pity you
Those are Husker Du lyrics, I didn't write any of that above...but it's the mid west and Husker Du is midwest, or they were. Cheers.
Mark Pilderwasser
...better think about gettin-out that Flexible Flyer after all...
you all look so overdressed in those pictures
36--you shoulda been in tank tops!
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