I'm trapped. I'm a prisoner. I've got to get out of here. Isn't that the way many of you feel about winter? Many people sit in their houses, only going out to clear the driveway of more snow and get groceries. Winter imprisons them and there doesn't seem to be any escape until spring arrives and frees them from their misery.
It reminds me of the classic fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast." In the story, a beautiful woman, Belle, is held captive in a castle by a horrible-looking beast, who is really a Prince. At the heart of the story is the lesson that we shouldn't judge a parson, or a beast, by its appearance. In the end, Belle learns to love the Beast despite his appearance. Because of her love, he's transformed back into a Prince and they live happily ever after. Don't you just love those fairy tale endings?
Winter is like that beast. When the first snow arrives and covers everything in a blanket of white it looks beautiful... like a picture postcard. We go out walking in it, marveling at the beauty. Life is good. A month later, the snow is piled high. It snows every other day. You're sick and tired of shoveling, but it keeps piling up on your driveway and sidewalks. The bitter cold is also present, making it harder to venture outside in comfort. You long for the days of shorts, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. It takes ten minutes to put all your winter clothes on just to go out and get the mail. You curse the snow, the wind, the cold, and even the snowplow that keeps piling snow in your driveway. You feel like giving winter and everything associated with it a one-fingered salute. You're trapped, imprisoned, and being tortured by the beast that's known as "Winter." How can you learn to love a beast like that? So much for happy, fairy tale endings.
But wait, maybe all is not lost. Perhaps some of you can learn to love this beast. Some people claim those of us of Norwegian heritage are born with skis on our feet. That makes for some painful deliveries. But seriously folks, skiing is a great way to learn to love the beast.
When I was still cross-country ski racing, I couldn't wait for winter to arrive. Even a heavy frost would find me waxing my skis in anticipation. When snowstorms and bitter cold weather arrived, I still found beauty in the beast.
My brother, David, and I would go downhill skiing in the evenings after work. As you know, it gets much colder at night and the soft snow of the day turns into an icy, fast surface. The wind would howl across the hills, the snow would blow, but we were in Seventh Heaven, flying down the slopes, our skis chattering across the hard-packed snow. We never had to worry about crowded conditions. Sometimes there were no other skiers around us. I guess not everyone sees the beauty in the beast, especially on cold, winter nights.
Mu cousin-in-law, Lou Wagner, who lives in Colorado, said he could always tell a Midwestern skier. We're always leaning forward so our weight is on the front of our skis to bite into the icy surface. It's hard for "ice skiers" to learn to sit back on their tails when they ski in powder. It's something to watch an expert skier like Lou carving a trail through the powder on a Colorado slope. That's poetry in motion. The love affair with winter has turned the beast into a beauty for Lou and all skiers, whether it's downhill, cross-country, or jumping.
Another activity that can bring the beauty out of the beast is snowshoeing. It can take you into deep snow and woods where you wouldn't normally venture during winter months. You can follow animal tracks and try to determine what story the tracks tell. You might be following a rabbit's tracks when they suddenly disappear. The hint of wings brushing the snow, tells us the unfortunate rabbit did not enjoy a fairy tale ending. Such is the way of the natural world. One perishes so the other may live. I find great fascination in observing the life that's been going on around us, as recorded in the snow. I know writers Jerry Apps and Norbert Blei share my love of exploring the stories we find written in the snow. If you get out, take a hike through the snow, and start looking for those stories, it will help turn the beast into a beauty for you too.
Even a simple act like feeding the birds in winter can add a lot of beauty to the beast. I've fed them and other critters for years. Have fun observing them and see how many species you can attract. This year it finally happened. I've been able to feed birds out of my hand. You feel a special bond with the natural world as a Chickadee perches on your bare fingers and eats seed from the palm of your hand.
They say there's a child inside each of us. Maybe that child needs to be set free, just like the Prince trapped inside the Beast. Then we can look at winter through the eyes of a child and find beauty in the beast.
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