This: "You may find that the weather bothers you for the first 5 minutes and then stops mattering. "
This is so very true. Winter walking, windy walking, out here on the western prairies there are many days in the darker season that make it easy to excuse myself from going out, but instead I persist, and yes, when dressed for the weather, after about five minutes I completely forget my hesitation to get out, and always enjoy my walk on the land.
Thank you, Lynn. The western prairie in the darker season sounds like the full test of those 5 minutes, since there is so little between you and the wind. What does the land give you out there in winter that it holds back the rest of the year?
Thanks for asking. It reminds me that no matter what, it's there if I need it. It reminds me I have the physical strength I need to lean into the wind on 'you need rocks in your pockets so you don't blow away' days. It reminds me that there is beauty in every season and that beauty has many faces. It reminds me that being out there exhilarates me. And it lets me feel every bit of where I step as my feet move and mold themselves to its frozen contours.
Thank you, Lynn. I asked what the land holds back, and your answer is that it holds nothing back at all, which is better than my question deserved. The rocks in your pockets made me laugh, and the frozen ground shaping your steps is something I want to pay more attention to on my own walks this winter.
It was my Dad used to say that when i was young, told me to 'put rocks in yer pockets so ya don't blow away!'. I hear those words in my head every single windy day.
I wear muckluks in winter, in order to carry on my barefoot style of footwear in all the seasons, and when I started that a few years ago, I learned to feel the ground under my feet. It's very different, helps me feel much more connected. Thanks for this conversation!
Your Dad's voice turning up every windy day is a fine thing to carry, Lynn, and it makes the wind a little bit his as well.
I had not thought of mukluks as a way to keep the ground underfoot all winter. Most winter footwear is built to put as much distance between us and the cold as possible, so choosing to feel the frozen contours instead is its own kind of attention. Thank you for the conversation too.
This: "You may find that the weather bothers you for the first 5 minutes and then stops mattering. "
This is so very true. Winter walking, windy walking, out here on the western prairies there are many days in the darker season that make it easy to excuse myself from going out, but instead I persist, and yes, when dressed for the weather, after about five minutes I completely forget my hesitation to get out, and always enjoy my walk on the land.
Thank you, Lynn. The western prairie in the darker season sounds like the full test of those 5 minutes, since there is so little between you and the wind. What does the land give you out there in winter that it holds back the rest of the year?
Thanks for asking. It reminds me that no matter what, it's there if I need it. It reminds me I have the physical strength I need to lean into the wind on 'you need rocks in your pockets so you don't blow away' days. It reminds me that there is beauty in every season and that beauty has many faces. It reminds me that being out there exhilarates me. And it lets me feel every bit of where I step as my feet move and mold themselves to its frozen contours.
The land doesn't really hold back, it simply reminds me in different ways how alive it is and how we are somehow part of each other.
Thank you, Lynn. I asked what the land holds back, and your answer is that it holds nothing back at all, which is better than my question deserved. The rocks in your pockets made me laugh, and the frozen ground shaping your steps is something I want to pay more attention to on my own walks this winter.
It was my Dad used to say that when i was young, told me to 'put rocks in yer pockets so ya don't blow away!'. I hear those words in my head every single windy day.
I wear muckluks in winter, in order to carry on my barefoot style of footwear in all the seasons, and when I started that a few years ago, I learned to feel the ground under my feet. It's very different, helps me feel much more connected. Thanks for this conversation!
Your Dad's voice turning up every windy day is a fine thing to carry, Lynn, and it makes the wind a little bit his as well.
I had not thought of mukluks as a way to keep the ground underfoot all winter. Most winter footwear is built to put as much distance between us and the cold as possible, so choosing to feel the frozen contours instead is its own kind of attention. Thank you for the conversation too.
Great essay. Thank you.
I hope you are feeling better.
Thank you, Penny, for both. I am on the mend.