It’s now been over a week since the temperatures have dipped below zero in Minnesota and, if the Dark Sky weather app is to be trusted, we have another week of it ahead of us.
In past years my wife and I have been lucky enough to be able to escape someplace warm for a least a week. This mid-winter trip is like a transfusion of hope that sees us through until spring.
We even got to spend ten days in beautiful Sedona, AZ last year around this time. We were all still blissfully ignorant of the nightmare that would soon unfold with the pandemic. What a difference a year makes.
Things, long term, are looking up but with no escape to warmer climates we’re stuck to deal with this extreme cold. Normally, we would be able to walk indoors at a local mall but with the more contagious variants of the virus running rampant we’re not comfortable doing this until we get vaccinated.
We’ve been creative in the ways that we’re dealing with the isolation. Walks in the parking garage and “rides to nowhere” on our stationary bike have been our savior.
Our twelve year old beagle, on the other hand, is having a rougher time of it. He will wear a jacket but we’ve had no luck getting him to wear dog boots.
We have to strategically plan our routes where there’s no salt on the ground and even then he can only walk about a half a block until his paws freeze. My Apple watch has actually started recording our walks as cardio because I’m carrying him most of the way.
As good as this solitude is for my writing, after twenty-six years of living here I can honestly say this is the last Minnesota winter I want to experience. Lately, I just keep thinking of how many months of the year we’re missing out on and the sheer inconvenience the harsh weather creates.
We will definitely be looking for a warmer place to make our winter homebase next year. I just keep telling myself just a few more weeks. Until then, I’ll be here, working away on this new novel of mine and dreaming of spring.
Enjoy your weekends!
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
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