Where
my home is, winter is a beast.
It
wasn't so when I was younger. Winter never bothered me. I enjoyed
being out in a snow storm plowing snow, shoveling snow or playing.
Very seldom did I ever have to really bundle up. The cold was
something I could laugh at.
As
this body has aged, been beaten up by me and has broken down in some
ways, that same cold now causes pain. Pain in the joints and pain in
my mind.
So
some time back I had decided to start looking for somewhere to spend
my winters. Somewhere not quite as snowy or cold, yet somewhere not
too warm.
When
I was in Southern Indiana before I fell in love with the rolling
hills. Liked the people I had met and those I talked to in passing.
Asked
people here about their winters. What they explained, sounded like
the worst of my spring and fall back home.
So I
finally decided on my adventure. A adventure to seek a place to spend
my January's and February's away from my normal winters. Also a trip
and time away from the normal to see if I could once again discover
my mind and myself.
This
being the absolute worst winter in many years may have made this an
insane idea. But in my pea brain it made sense. If I find the worst
and can tolerate that, I can certainly tolerate anything better
during normal winters.
Well,
it's down right cold here. A whopping 27 degrees this morning. Slight
wind too. So I finally had to don more than a short sleeve
sweatshirt. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt underneath.
Hey,
it's above 0 degrees! Less than that is what I left. This feels great
to me.
I
may not get much more fishing done while I'm here though because the
ice won't melt from along the river banks. And I have no desire to
fall. I did have a slight slip on Tuesday which had me looking for a
chiropractor yesterday. With what's left of my back that is nothing
new for me. Yet pushing my luck challenging ice wouldn't be a good
idea.
I
had the time to check out a cave where the guy who started this town
stayed with his family when he first got here. It's not so much a
cave as a deep hollow cut into the rock cliffs. Yet I can understand
how it would have made good shelter and protection. It does have a
wonderful view of the river also.
I'm
hoping today to find some access areas along the river with good
accessibility where maybe I can fish and not have to challenge steep
banks that are muddy and ice covered.
I've
already felt the affects of my escape on my mind. I'm feeling more
relaxed, more open already. Maybe creativity will return. Maybe
desire will return. Maybe, maybe, maybe...
I'll
be leaving here in a few more days and heading farther to the south.
Will that be the area I find I like more? Who knows, but instead of
fighting the old, I am attempting to understand the new and build on that.
