Minnows in the Snow

Today was a tease. It was sunny all day. I took an hour-long walk down to the river. There were more people out walking today than I have seen out all winter long. And dogs. So many dogs with their owners. It's as if the thaw of the day released them from their homes, and they all came out to walk the path that was once so familiar to them in the warmer season.

Yet, as I walked along, smiling, nodding, saying my hellos to the suddenly cheerful people, I was reminded of the truth of this month. That it is still Winter. That March is waiting, just around the corner of the week, to come in like a lion and gorge itself on the tasty lamb. The frozen river was dotted with ice fishers. Snowmobilers raced up and down the icy freeway. "The Hill" still had enough snow to entertain the dozen or so children running up and sliding down.

Oh, yes, Winter, today was your flirtation with us poor northerners. Lifting your skirt just enough for us to see dainty petticoats of green grass. But, just like in the cartoons, there's a bear-jaw trap waiting there, should we reach out with our ungloved hands to touch you. Step onto the grass as though it were time to run barefoot through the daisies, and we'll find ourselves frozen into the mud. Let our minds relax into believing this sun could actually warm any portion of bare skin we expose to it, and the next day, I know, we'll find ourselves reddened and frostbitten. You are a tease, oh February Winter, and we are your bait, like minnows in the snow.

It's Cold Where I Live

And barren. For months. Boats don't leave the river. Leaves don't grow on trees. People don't sit in the park and drink beer from paper bags. It's blue and it's gray and it's cold, all day, every day. It can be warmer when the sun shines, but only if the wind isn't blowing. And the wind is almost always blowing, just a little, just enough to need to pull that scarf up over your nose so your nostrils won't freeze. We stay indoors. We make soup and bread and drink whiskey and beer and wine and pull blankets up over our noses when we sleep at night. We wake up in darkness and wish only to not have to pee so bad that we can stay under the covers just a little while longer. Yes, it's cold where I live.