Only so many winters
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s easy to complain. Many times last week I overheard people whine how they hate the winter months. But for the most part we have been fortunate. Until recently winter has been just an extension of fall. The thermometer topped out at nearly 60 degrees Christmas day and accumulated snow negligible.
“I hate winter because it starts a three month funk for me,” one lady said. “I absolutely hate the cold, that’s why I got this,” said another friend while demonstrating the remote start button to his GMC pickup. Excuse me; I interrupt this weekly outdoor column to bring you this news bulletin: It is Indiana where we do have cold weather as demonstrated by the change that took place last weekend.
Who knows what you may be doing this very moment. Maybe telling you mate how it’s too cold to clean the gutters and you’ll just wait till spring. You could be sunk waist deep in your recliner, channel surfing, wondering how you could have 296 stations and not a single thing worth watching.
Whatever you’re doing, stop! Pull up your hood, step outside and listen close. The universe is trying to tell you something. “Wake-up,” it’s whispering. “Get outside before it’s too late.”
To outdoor minded people, winter is like Christmas, Fourth of July and a big fat tax check rolled into one. It’s the annual window when hunting seasons are open and hopefully ice fishing opportunities become available. There’s no guarantee you’ll score on wild game or fill the freezer with tasty panfish, but like the carnie barks as you walk by the Whack-A Mole booth at the county fair, “you can’t win if you aint in it.” The same goes for hunting, fishing or any outdoor pursuit for that matter.
Now before you go pining about our coldest season, let me ask you one question. “Just how many winters do you think you have left?” I’m serious. Thirty? Twenty? Two? For all you know, this could be your last.
Human vanities being what they are, most of us don’t like to consider this question too closely. It’s natural to put these types of thoughts aside. But face it, we all live on borrowed time. There’s one thing for certain, the only winter you have for sure is the one passing through your fingers at this very moment.
Personally, I love everything about it. It’s one of the few times I enjoy hearing that annoying alarm go off hours before the first hint of daylight. I don’t mind wiping tired sleep from my eyes as I groggily get my stiff body slowly limbered up in a valiant effort to just stand up.
The excitement of thinking “today’s going to be the day,” as I stumble my way out the door to meet friends for a coyote hunt. I love the lonesome feeling of watching an oak leaf that has hung on tight for nine months suddenly decide today is the day it will make that slow sojourn to the ground. I even love sitting in those small diners at five in the morning quaffing down a hearty-man’s breakfast containing a year’s worth of calories and carbohydrates, which my doctor said I didn’t need. He even said I should quit smoking. I really liked my doctor. I’m going to miss him.
Like some, I expect to spend a great deal of time outdoors over the next several months. Now is the time to scout new hunting areas or visit old ones. The woods have been stripped clean revealing things not seen when foliage and underbrush obscure Mother Nature’s secrets.
I am also looking forward to cold mornings, hearing the whistling wings of ducks and the raucous honking of geese as they drop in over my decoy spread. Hopefully, by the time this column makes print there will be ample, safe ice fishing opportunities to add to the list.
For the non-consumptive outdoor enthusiasts our coldest months provide the perfect time to gather family and friends for skiing or sledding outings. It’s also the most perfect time for simplistic activities like sitting around a crackling bon-fire.
Let’s not blame winter for our depressed mood. It’s usually a lack of vision and motivation on our own part - not freezing temps and diminished daylight.
So instead of grousing about our coldest time of year, take it in stride and make the best of it. After all, a person only gets so many!