I have a love hate relationship with the winter.  I love to play outside in the snow.  I seem to be one of the few people that I know that actually enjoys shoveling snow.  Last year we had snow on the ground from the day after Christmas to just a few days before the Spring Equinox.  It seemed like we had a major storm almost every week.  I loved it.  What made last winter's snow even better was the last last November I finally bought a new pair of snowshoes.  My last pair had been mysteriously  damage in the cellar that they were stored several years prior.  And, to tell you the truth I really was not too found of them.  I bought them when I was a graduate student living in Albany.  We (my wife and me) were broke, and we bought what we could afford.  They were the old wooden style.  And, since I intended to do some backpacking with them, they had to be big, so that they could hold my body weight plus the weight of a backpack.  I weighed well over 200 lbs back then.  The snowshoes were huge.  This time I did not hold back. I knew that I would most likely not be buying another pair in my lifetime. I bought the best pair that I could find--MSR Ascent.  I was smart enough to wait for them to go on sale, and was able to snag a pair for $240.   Because of all of the snow last year I was able to get some use out of them without heading to the mountains.  Although I did get a a trip to the mountains in last winter.

I also took up cross-country skiing in earnest last winter. I have owned my skis for countless years. Over the past couple of years I have used them off and on, but they have basically collected dust.  Last winter I was able to spend many hours on the skis at a local forest that has a large loop around one of the cities reservoirs.

There are few things that I enjoy more than skiing or snowshoeing in the woods after a big storm.  The snow is gorgeous.   But, even better than the visuals effects of snow are the audible.  The snow on the trees blocks out the sounds of the world around me, and I feel as though I am in an ancient forest far away from any signs of civilization.

Then there are the holidays. I do enjoy Thanksgiving a lot, but I love Christmas.  It is not the "gifts"that I enjoy so much.  In fact I kind of hate the retail portion of the holiday. I have now been working in retail for 3 1/2 years and I hate putting up Christmas items in September.  It is simply wrong.  And, only once have I involved myself in Black Friday.  It was a mistake that was not repeated.  Rather, it is the surreal feeling that the season has about it.  Every year I feel like I have been transported to a world in which all is wonderful and everything is beautiful. Of course I know this is only an illusion.  But, one that I enjoy.  My family puts up our tree the weekend (usually the day) after Thanksgiving.  Some of this has to do with my young daughter.  But, I am sure that when she is older we will still put it up fairly early.  I start to listen to Christmas music as soon as fall begins. I really do not enjoy what many consider "traditional" Christmas music--you know that stuff that the lounge singers of the 50s and 60s sang.  I don't hate it, but I rather listen to Celtic Christmas music or instrumental music.  One of my favorite albums is an album by Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai.  I even like Christian Christmas music a lot, which is strange since I am an atheist.

The only problem with Thanksgiving and Christmas is that they are too early in the winter season. Winter has barely begun when we celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving is in the late/middle of Fall.  The joy of the season is gone and then I have to deal with the darkness.

Intellectually, I understand that after the Winter Solstice the days begin to get longer.  But, the days also begin to get colder.  And, it is the combination of the short days and cold days that really get me down.  It is even worse if we do not get any snow.  Then is is much harder to play.

Because I was able to snowshoe and ski a lot last year I was able to keep the winter blues at bay for most of the season.  But, when we do not have a lot of snow I try to push myself to get outside and go for walks in the woods.  The ultimate goal is to get into the sunlight.  I just read an article (it was actually more like a blurb) in Bicycling magazine that discussed the accumulation of fat that results from spending too much time in artificial heat. Besides arguing that artificial heat induces weight gain, It also stated that spending time in the cold can actually help you loose weight, through something called brown fat, which they state actually  burns calories.  I am not going to pretend to know a lot about this issue and the blurb is only a few sentences long, so it did not go into  much detail. The main point was that exercise outside is preferable to sitting in front of the TV and waiting for spring.

For me the real issue is not staying in shape in the winter.  I try not too put on too much weight.  But it is much harder to exercise in the winter than the other seasons.  I have a trainer.  However, riding a bike inside really is just plain boring.  I am also not a gym person.  The main reason that I have to get outside, is that I need to get away from the house.  I need to get away from the TV, phone, computer, and any other distraction. I need to get out into the cold winter air and enjoy the day.

I find that when I do get outside my mood improves drastically.  And, conversely if I stay in the house I become a curmudgeon.  I spend the entire day, not feeling myself and longing for spring. The time outside does not fix the problem totally, but it helps me get through the winter.

Get outside this winter!

Peter