Happy New Year! and Some Un-resolutions for Joyful Living

 

Happy New Year! For those unfamiliar with northern winter climates, I'll tell you that the image above is snow. This snow is not new, yet has no tracks or marks on it, and it serves as an analogy for the new year. This snow fell last year and remains, just as parts of 2020 remain with us into 2021. But what remains has not marked this snow. Here it is, crisp and untouched. What can we make of it? It's ours to decide. What can we make of our new year? At the end of 2021, will we be glad of the tracks we've made? 

A new year presents challenges and responsibilities. A turn of a calendar page is not magic. I'm sure I'm not alone in making and breaking resolutions year after year. This year, I realized that the things I usually resolved to do felt more like punishment. So I'm going to make some un-resolutions that I can actually keep that will increase my joy. My list is in progress and subject to change, but here are a few items:

Eat a bite of chocolate every day.

Listen more to music.

Read more, generally, and read more poetry, specifically.

Look at--really look at--works of art.

No, these are not SMART goals. These are just life-enriching things that often get pushed aside in daily busyness. How will you add more joy this year? What tracks will you leave in 2021?

"...Lift up your hearts.

Each new hour holds new chances

For new beginnings...." is from the incredible poem by Maya Angelou,"On The Pulse of Morning," written for and delivered at President Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Here is the entire poem: 

Hai-KOOL! National Poetry Month

Spring has been slow to arrive where I live, so instead of whining I decided to try writing a couple of haikus about the situation. I am calling them "hai-kools" for the weather they represent. Check out another playful form of haiku on Laura Purdie Salas' blog, where she is writing a riddle-ku a day for National Poetry Month.

Our dog, Watson, is always an inspiration.

wrestling with snowflakes

snapping them out of the air

Watson wins a round.

impending snowstorm

laughs at April calendar.

"Take that, Spring!" it says.

Winter Vocabulary in the Northern Plains

While winter wreaks havoc across the entire country, it's come to my attention that here in the Northern Plains we use some special terminology, thanks to our enemy, the wind. Here are three terms and their definitions:


(Ground blizzard, North Dakota, I-94. The videographer notes, "between Bismarck and Fargo on Jan. 7, 2011. Temperature near zero, north wind at 30 to 40 mph, visibility not good. We had to watch for cracks in the pavement because we couldn't see the lanes."

ground blizzard--Ground blizzards occur when it is not snowing. The day may even be sunny, but if you are in a ground blizzard, you would have to look up to notice. During a ground blizzard, wind blows already fallen snow, so that at ground level, you seem to be in a blizzard. This is most likely to happen after a fresh snowfall in open areas where the ditches on either side are already full of snow.

Visibility is poor to nonexistent, making ground blizzard conditions very dangerous. Driving, you cannot see vehicles or obstacles ahead or around you. When the wind whips the snow across the road, you cannot see if the pavement is slick.

Recent northern South Dakota ground blizzard conditions caused 150 motorists, many of them semi drivers, to be stranded on I-29 for up to 48 hours! Thank goodness for this little oasis. Here's the scene on the highway, from a news station's helicopter:



(example of finger drifts)

finger drifts--Finger drifts occur when wind blows snow across the road over a period of time and the snow builds up with horizontal "fingers" stretching into the road. Easy to pass through when fresh, after the wind has whipped them into shape, they become hard as rocks and can cause considerable damage to vehicles who ram them.



(from http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/807648, Coed conwydd yn cysgodi Moel yr Iwrch / Conifers sheltering Moel yr Iwrch for SH8354, © Copyright Ceri Thomas and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)

shelter belt--Sometimes called a "wind break," a shelter belt is an area of planted tree rows, often around a country farmstead, to protect it from the wind. The example photo above is in Great Britain.

What special climate or weather teminology do you use in your region?

Blizzards Then and Now

Our first blizzard of the season hit Saturday, December 11 (ignore the date on the picture; it is not set correctly for some reason) . After dumping seven inches of snow swirled by wind gusts up to 53 miles per hour, this storm went on to collapse the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis and wreak havoc across the northern Midwest.

Major interstate highways were closed. We were smart enough to heed the warnings to stay put and were happy to do so. We had shelter, electricity, food, running water, and things to keep us occupied (books, TV, Christmas card writing) while the storm roared outside.

The storm reminded me of a book I read last year, The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. It's set in our region during the blizzard of 1888, called the "Children's Blizzard" because so many children died. The book is a riveting account of prairie settlement, extreme weather, the fledging weather service and its ineptitude and politics, the science behind the weather, and the families that suffered. It's a touching book in many ways.

Nowadays, the weather service is less political and much more accurate, thanks to modern technology. Communication about weather is easily sent and received. Fabric for outerwear, boots, and gloves has improved. As a society, we have learned a lot about dealing with extreme weather. Still, people caught in it die every year.

The Children's Blizzard suggests in its conclusion that this part of the country should never have been settled, as it is not fit for habitation. It does take tough stuff to live here, but a sense of community keeps us looking out for each other and helps us laugh with each other--we're all in this together. Fortunately, in modern times blizzards don't set us back for long. Here's a typical scene in local neighborhoods the day after the storm:
Another dire blizzard account set in our region is Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter. This one, from a young teen girl's perspective, shows the effects of weeks of deprivation as supplies could not get reach town during the blizzard of 1880-1881. This story has a happier ending than the book mentioned above, with the train getting through in time to save the settlers.

Some things in this region have not changed when it comes to blizzards. The weather still rears its ugly head, and we must still be prepared. When blizzards hit, we hunker down, concerned for those who might be out in it. Forced from our daily business, we are reminded of what's most important--life, loved ones, and simple pleasures--and are thankful for what we have.



What stormy weather stories can you tell?

Snow Falls!

Nineteen inches of snow fell from Christmas Eve (Thursday) through Saturday. US Interstates 29 and 90 were closed, shutting the state down border to border for most of that time. Snowplows ran around the clock keeping emergency routes open and finally opened up side streets yesterday. After that, neighborhoods were busy with snow blowers and shovelers. See pictures here.

Today, the people we saw were cheery and thankful--thankful that we didn't lose power, thankful that it wasn't so cold, thankful it wasn't too windy, thankful that people we loved were safe if not with us for Christmas. Some people saw more fun than work in the snow, enjoying sledding and snow angels. See pictures here.

This event brings to mind three wonderful books about snow. They are aimed at children, but if you are a child at heart, take a look and experience the wonder all over again.

If I Had a Snowplow by Jean Patrick. This rhyming picture book tells how a little boy would use construction equipment to do something nice for his mom. Jean lives in Mitchell, SD, so she knows snow!

In The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats , a classic Caldecott Award winner, a boy named Peter discovers the wonder and fun of snow. Keats' collage and watercolors give this book a special flavor.

Another Caldecott Award winner, Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian, tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, a Vermont farm boy who devoted his life to snowflakes. Bentley's fascination led him to photograph and study snowflakes. Many of his photographs are still in use today.

Sledding is fine, but for me, there's nothing better than a good book on a snowy day! What books would you recommend?

Palm Sunday 2009

Really. What more can I say? The date is off on my camera. This scene really is from April 5, 2009. I guess the weather is off on the calendar!