Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Wow the first bitter cold day of winter has hit 12 degrees and add the wind chill and we are well below zero. I had to pry open my car door this morning since the rain from last night froze it shut. Time to change my attire, time for the knit hat and heavy gloves. I live in the Platte River valley, which doesn’t have a lot of trees so the north wind comes sweeping over prairie hills just to the north bringing with it a full mouth bite. The cold north wind is a fact of life for winter life in Nebraska. There are a couple of other places I have thought about living, northern California and central Colorado come to mind but Nebraska is my home and the home of my family and closest friends. We have 4 complete seasons here, nothing half ass, bitter winters, scorching summers, amazing springs and falls. I love the quiet back roads, you don’t have to drive too far even in the cities like Lincoln and Omaha to find a gravel road where you can drive along at a comfortable pace and take in the farm lands pastures with cattle and horses, groves of trees, the peaceful track of a shallow river. Hopefully I will be moving from central Nebraska this summer to the more populated city of Lincoln, the main reason is to be in a community that has a larger population of fringe dwellers, alternatives, bohemians, and people like me. I have close friends in recovery there so the transition will be easy. The time has come once my daughter graduates from high school to move to a place where being a liberal isn’t quite so much associated with being a Satanist. Plus there is a larger spiritual community there and in Omaha. This is just a goal, nothing is written in stone so I don’t have any huge expectations on the line that can cause me to get my Y fronts in a serious twist if the plans fall through. So much about the future, today it is cold but that is alright, I live here and accept that.

First Hello of Winter

Well the first hello of winter came, welcome back cold north wind, snow and rain. Stepping out outside I am aware that my insect friends are gone for the season, the ladybugs who have been extremely present the last couple of days are no long hanging around on the post outside the backdoor, grasshoppers, crickets and beetles that I would see while smoking have moved on also. No more spiders and their glossy webs to admire, gone for a few months waiting for rebirth come spring. My bird friends are still around for a bit though, doves, sparrows, killdeer’s, swallow’s and the occasional meadowlark, soon some of these will be moving on also. Shortly the sound of Canadian geese will fill the air along with the huge flocks of sandhill cranes making their way south. When the cranes and geese return it will be time to get in the car with a thermos of coffee, drive along the river roads and admire them feeding in the freshly harvested bean, corn and alfalfa fields.

Not a fan of winter but it is a fact of life in the Midwest, the land doesn’t have enough trees to block the wind completely. Don’t mind the snow but the ice is annoying, mainly because it is the pits to drive on and you have to be extra careful of other drivers. I have a bit of a different mindset this year so I wonder will I be more aware of the season and will my eyes see more than before, or as the months move along will I become more blinded and just get anxious for spring? Time will tell, time to put more focus on seeing beauty all around me. It is easy to see beauty in nature during spring, summer and fall, but the sleep of winter with the cold is another thing. Like everything else it is mine to hold or throw away, to be open or closed. Live in the moment, the now, the seen and unseen.