THE BAD: SAD. As in Seasonal Affective Disorder. I have this. You probably do too. Read the Mayo clinic's symptom list for an ah-ha moment about why you've been feeling so crummy lately (http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/basics/symptoms/con-20021047). Honestly, there was a point this winter where I had feelings from the 'major depression' list - loss of interest, hopelessness.. the trouble with sleeping even continues today. But mostly I'm just a listless, carb-craving couch slug! Sometimes when the sun is out I just turn my face up to it like a sunflower trying to drink in the weak rays and remind my body there is a light at the end of this winter tunnel! To anyone else wondering why they've been pounding down the cookies (in my case graham crackers and marshmallows in the form of microwave smores.. oh man.. gotta stop this..) and laying in bed ordering themselves to get out of it with no hope in the morning.. you are not alone. The good news: there are longer days a'comin'. Just another month until Daylight Savings Time!
THE GOOD: Winter dogwalks (when I'm not doing the endless loop of death around our neighbourhood - don't tell Bailey, but most days I just want to get these walks OVER with!). Memorable walks have included all the times I've strapped on my snowshoes and headed out into nature (even if nature is just the conservation trails in my neighbourhood!). Bailey seems to love bounding around in the deep snow like a rodeo horse, which is always entertaining for me to watch :) Yesterday in the late afternoon we took advantage of the "snow day" and headed out into the sunshine to break new trail in snow up to his armpits and my knees. What a workout!!
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| My trusty sidekick Bailey is just up ahead - this is us snowshoeing the Minesing Wetlands (THE BAD: putting your foot through the ice and getting it stuck in the muck below the icy water! agggg! THE GOOD: those are 20 Great Blue Heron nests in a place impossible to reach in the spring/summer/fall :)) |
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| Bailey is such a trooper - he's not tall, but he's hardy and broke trail yesterday afternoon for us in Eastview Park! |
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| Well, ya can't complain about this view! Laura Baily Memorial Trail between Eastview and Grange. |
THE BAD: Everything being cancelled due to snow!!! My Superbowl party included. Not that Jeff and I had a problem eating the entire two racks of ribs in 2 days, but ribs are so much sweeter when shared with friends! Already looking forward to Superbowl 2016! Also, I've had a standing invite for some local ladies to join me for The Bachelor every Monday for weeks which has been a problematic weather day for at least the last 2 weeks! Either that or they're too nice to tell me my Bachelor addiction has gotten OUT OF CONTROL! ;)
THE GOOD: The chance to be at home. I can't hate winter too much, or wish it away too quickly, because when spring and summer come I will have to take off for multiple long trips to the field which will leave me sorely missing home - the quiet solitude (not that I don't enjoy yammering with my interns nonstop for a week, I do, but quiet is really underrated!), being with Jeff and Bailey, my own bed and pillows, my bathtub - there are so many little wonders I miss all summer long which are mine all winter long, and for that I'm grateful. Plus time.. just having time.. to be... very nice indeed.
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| I took this at the end of my adventure walking home today to show my assistant I made it home safely. Never been so happy about HOME! |
THE BAD: The dreaded winter cold/flu. I've had 2 in January alone and I'm SO over them. The last one sapped me for NINE DAYS (I was monitoring it closely!). Being robbed of the ability to work out.. walk up and down stairs without getting winded.. last the day without taking a nap... even just the ability to tidy my house a little (the dog fur is in tumbleweeds) - so incredibly frustrating. The feeling of being TRAPPED on my beloved couch is not one I enjoy!! Man am I happy that last cold passed and I'll be back to walking in a wide arc around sick people and washing my hands every time I see a tap! Sadly I'm finding a direct correlation between drinking and getting sick, so I might have to clean up my act.. for the next little while at least. 3 colds/flus in 5 months is far too many! To health!!!
THE GOOD: Skiing! I can't wait for my first XC ski! The conditions weren't right until YESTERDAY and since I was snowshoeing yesterday and hoofing it home from work today, I haven't yet had the opportunity, but know I will be taking it as soon as I get it. I love the swish swish sound of skis cutting through the snow, and the fun of zipping down a wee hill, and even laughing at falling over. Skiing through snowy trees around Guelph Lake is pretty spectacular. This was the original activity I decided to take up in my bid not to hate winter, and I'd encourage anyone else to try it, anytime!
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| Skiing in Carden Alvar in 2014 |
THE BAD: The dark. The ominous, looming, ever-present darkness. I'm lucky to work in town so I at least get to see the sunrise on my morning dogwalk and it's light when I leave the building at 4:30. Poor Jeff, at parts of winter he literally never goes outside when it's light out. He hates winter a lot more than me. Point taken. There is such an important interaction between light and mood - I've never felt it as much as I did this year. Daylight savings countdown, keep it in mind!!!
THE GOOD: The hilarity that was mid-December weather. On Boxing Day in Niagara-on-the-Lake it was 12C and sunny. Jeff and I took Bailey for the longest walk EVER just to soak up the rays of what felt like a spring day! Jeff of course wore a t-shirt. I walked Bailey in my hiking boots and shoes for most of the month which was awesome! Though the point of this entry was trying to find GOOD things about winter.. a GOOD thing about winter is when it forgets to really show up at all! ;)
THE GOOD: Snowy owls. I recently went on a mission to find one, and got lucky enough to see FIVE! They are currently experiencing a population fluctuation known as an irruption, which drove huge numbers of them south this winter. This might never happen again in our lifetime so I'm pretty excited I got to see 5 in one day. 0 before.. 0 after.. but that 5-Snowy day will live in my heart forever!!
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| Snowy Wink |
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