My flight into Fargo last night arrived late--it was almost 11pm by the time we deplaned, thanks to a lengthy de-icing in Minneapolis. While waiting for my baggage to be unloaded, I got a message that the university would be closed tomorrow due to weather. When I got home, I had to unpack and do laundry because I was planning to fly out to Atlanta the next day, so I didn't get to sleep until 1am. Unfortunately, I woke up at 6am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and did a bit of work and then decided I would go out for a short ski, since I won't get another opportunity to do so until I get back from Atlanta.
Since it was -5F with falling snow and wind, I decided to wear my kuspuk over my ski clothes. I made this one with a shorter-than-usual skirt around the bottom, so my legs would be free for skiing, but still long enough to cover my rear. I feel so much warmer when my rear is covered.
My first glimpse out the side door was bleak. Snow had drifted between our house and the neighbor's, covering our car and my bike. The wind was not TOO bad, so I put on my skis right there and skied down the sidewalk (no one had been out yet to snowblow or shovel) to the dike. It was a bit of a slog to get over the dike, which had deep snow drifted up against it, but skiing down the other side was a lovely sensory experience. As I slowly glided down, the snow grazed my knees--it is such a great feeling to move through soft snow while your feet and legs feel warm inside your boots and clothing.
I skied toward the trail, the only sound was the wind blowing fiercely. The large white blanket of snow covering the trails had been carved by the wind into undulating curves and those larger curves had a smaller recurring pattern carved upon them. It was really interesting, but because of the light, I don't think I could capture it.
Once I got down to where the trail by the river usually is, I began breaking trail in the direction of the dogpark. The wind blew tiny bits of snow into my face, dealing tiny stings. "Hmmm," I thought, this isn't really skiing, more likely walking--no trudging--on skis." I'll call this ski-trudging. I might as well be on snow shoes. At least it is exercise, and since I just have this short reprieve between two plane trips, it is good to get some fresh air and get my blood moving around. At the dogpark, I turned back, took a couple of photos, and enjoyed skiing back in my own tracks (easier going) with the wind at my back (no more stings to the face). A woodpecker flew down to a branch by the trail to say hello. "How are you doing in the storm?" I asked. He was taking a break from pecking at the tree and just flew branch to branch, keeping me company for a little while. I was reminded of a woven basket I saw at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Tuesday--it had little red feathers sticking up out of the reeds, and when I read the placard, I was surprised to see that they were woodpecker feathers. How ingenious to include them in a work of art! Here is an example of this kind of work.
When I got back from my little ski, my neighbor had fired up the snowblower and my husband had woken up. I will finish packing and head back to the airport, fingers crossed that my plane will be able to take off in the storm.
Since it was -5F with falling snow and wind, I decided to wear my kuspuk over my ski clothes. I made this one with a shorter-than-usual skirt around the bottom, so my legs would be free for skiing, but still long enough to cover my rear. I feel so much warmer when my rear is covered.
My first glimpse out the side door was bleak. Snow had drifted between our house and the neighbor's, covering our car and my bike. The wind was not TOO bad, so I put on my skis right there and skied down the sidewalk (no one had been out yet to snowblow or shovel) to the dike. It was a bit of a slog to get over the dike, which had deep snow drifted up against it, but skiing down the other side was a lovely sensory experience. As I slowly glided down, the snow grazed my knees--it is such a great feeling to move through soft snow while your feet and legs feel warm inside your boots and clothing.
I skied toward the trail, the only sound was the wind blowing fiercely. The large white blanket of snow covering the trails had been carved by the wind into undulating curves and those larger curves had a smaller recurring pattern carved upon them. It was really interesting, but because of the light, I don't think I could capture it.
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| You can barely see the waves I'm writing about--it's much better in person. |
Once I got down to where the trail by the river usually is, I began breaking trail in the direction of the dogpark. The wind blew tiny bits of snow into my face, dealing tiny stings. "Hmmm," I thought, this isn't really skiing, more likely walking--no trudging--on skis." I'll call this ski-trudging. I might as well be on snow shoes. At least it is exercise, and since I just have this short reprieve between two plane trips, it is good to get some fresh air and get my blood moving around. At the dogpark, I turned back, took a couple of photos, and enjoyed skiing back in my own tracks (easier going) with the wind at my back (no more stings to the face). A woodpecker flew down to a branch by the trail to say hello. "How are you doing in the storm?" I asked. He was taking a break from pecking at the tree and just flew branch to branch, keeping me company for a little while. I was reminded of a woven basket I saw at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Tuesday--it had little red feathers sticking up out of the reeds, and when I read the placard, I was surprised to see that they were woodpecker feathers. How ingenious to include them in a work of art! Here is an example of this kind of work.
When I got back from my little ski, my neighbor had fired up the snowblower and my husband had woken up. I will finish packing and head back to the airport, fingers crossed that my plane will be able to take off in the storm.
Amazed that you had the energy to write this post! We got about a foot of snow yesterday, our first big snowfall all winter. Really needed it for the Birkie.
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