Thinking about snow
It's been a long time since we've have spent any time in snowy places in the winter, aside from the intermittent snowy days that occasionally shut down Asheville (or Clemson before that). Snow posts from the past are interesting.
My gardening companion had had a premonition that we might not have our boy Mocha much longer in late 2010 (we're scientists by background, so I paid attention to his thoughts -- this was quite unusual). So we spent winter break in Asheville and experienced this snow in December 2010. Mocha had a blast. We lost him in March of 2011 after a short illness -- he was 11.
This winter, we're planning to drive with our 10-year Golden, Woody, to Quebec, to experience the snow. Our small house there is next to a national park that is apparently equally wonderful in winter experiences (hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing), to the wonderful summer options, according to their website. The hiking trails turn into hiking, skiing, and snowshoe trails.
So we're ready with base layers, snow boots, snow pants, and our legacy down jackets, along with our modern outer layers. We've just ordered some ski-snowshoe hybrids for both of us that should be perfect for fun on the trails.
We have a vintage wood stove in our house -- and LOTS of wood, along with convective heat units so I think the house will be quite cosy.
But this is an adventure for us, to be sure. We loved cross-country skiing in our 20's. We're now in our 60's and have gone to warmer and brighter places in the winter for some decades, from our relatively mild winter base in the Southeastern U.S.
But, we think we need to experience what it's like in that place in the world, to fully understand what it's like to live there full-time. It's magical in the summer; it may well prove to be magical for a month or so in winter, too. We're not planning to live there year-round, but it just seems like a good thing to see what it's like, and understand the context of what it's like to live there. It's really cold in the winter and pretty darn dark, too.
My gardening companion had had a premonition that we might not have our boy Mocha much longer in late 2010 (we're scientists by background, so I paid attention to his thoughts -- this was quite unusual). So we spent winter break in Asheville and experienced this snow in December 2010. Mocha had a blast. We lost him in March of 2011 after a short illness -- he was 11.
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| playing with Mocha in the snow on our street |
This winter, we're planning to drive with our 10-year Golden, Woody, to Quebec, to experience the snow. Our small house there is next to a national park that is apparently equally wonderful in winter experiences (hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing), to the wonderful summer options, according to their website. The hiking trails turn into hiking, skiing, and snowshoe trails.
So we're ready with base layers, snow boots, snow pants, and our legacy down jackets, along with our modern outer layers. We've just ordered some ski-snowshoe hybrids for both of us that should be perfect for fun on the trails.
We have a vintage wood stove in our house -- and LOTS of wood, along with convective heat units so I think the house will be quite cosy.
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| Wood stove to the right |
But this is an adventure for us, to be sure. We loved cross-country skiing in our 20's. We're now in our 60's and have gone to warmer and brighter places in the winter for some decades, from our relatively mild winter base in the Southeastern U.S.
But, we think we need to experience what it's like in that place in the world, to fully understand what it's like to live there full-time. It's magical in the summer; it may well prove to be magical for a month or so in winter, too. We're not planning to live there year-round, but it just seems like a good thing to see what it's like, and understand the context of what it's like to live there. It's really cold in the winter and pretty darn dark, too.
Lisa, I think you will love Bic in the winter as much as you do in the summer. The days are short but the light can be quite magical, shining on snow and ice.
ReplyDeleteWe’ve really been enjoying it! It’s been beautiful this last week, whether bright or grey.
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