Embracing the weather…

For those far away; I live on the Canadian prairies, at the west end, very close to the Rocky Mountains. Driving south on the highway, one can see the mountains in the distance. Prairie weather in winter consists of snow in large quantities, and wind: constant wind. The prevailing wind here is from the Northwest, and it always has a sharp edge.

Further east on the prairies, the weather is very cold for a much longer period than we get here. Minus 30 C is not uncommon, and -40 C happens usually once every winter. Our weather is a bit tempered by the Rockies, over which war air flows from the Pacific. We still get very cold weather, usually not colder than -30. When it gets that cold here, everybody squawks. Locals like to think of themselves as almost mountain people, just a stone’s throw from the Pacific coast.

Why do I tell you this? Two reasons: the first is that this is what prairie people do a lot of the time – talk about the weather! It’s either too cold in winter, or to hot in summer. There is either way too much rain, or it’s a drought. See how much you are learning about me? After awhile, it gets quite boring, but we never stop doing it.

I tell you all this because this winter has been – so far – very different. I have not had to wear my Canada Goose parka (made for the arctic) even once so far. I’ve plodded through slush more often than snow, and my hands have been almost warm most of the time. All of which is to tell you that we are having an incredibly mild winter. Most folks are thrilled with that. Warm! Almost no snow! I feel quite differently about this condition. It makes me nervous. I keep thinking, “If March is so warm, what will happen in April…or even May?”

I feel this way partly because I am a ‘winter person.’ I love winter. I love the challenge of weather. My motto as a runner, and now a walker, is: “Weather won’t stop me. I can conquer that!” I have run thirteen miles in -40 weather, because I had the correct gear. Last winter, I walked my 5 km one morning when it was -38 C, and the most I suffered was feet getting cold because the chill came through the soles of my boots. I suppose it’s a fetish. So sue me!

The main reason I like winter in the winter months has to do with climate change and greenhouse gases. I like in a province that produces a lot of greenhouse gas. We are major polluters, mostly because those that run thing poo-poo the climate change fears. I embrace those fears. I don’t like warm weather in February and March because it’s a drastic change in our weather patterns. I fear for what that will mean for April if the weather patterns are disrupted and changed. There have been spring seasons when there was a killing frost and snow late in April, after trees had begun to sprout buds, and some wild flowers were already in bloom. That change in the weather meant death of the buds, death to freshly sprouted winter wheat, a real setback for agriculture, some danger to our food supply.

Folks who applaud warmth a March are probably not thinking about “what comes next?” When you can rush off to a warm place in winter, the importance of that season can be sloughed off. Embracing winter is one thing I can do to celebrate the land where I am placed, to face what comes with joy. Somehow this perverse enjoyment of mine is linked to my recovery program. On the frozen streets, as in the warm pool, I plug away and celebrate where I am.