The End of a Frozen Lake

It's been in the fifties the last couple of days, and we've watched the lake slowly turn from white, to gray,, from frozen, to slush, to the beginnings of the end of winter. It's sad, as we have thoroughly enjoyed cross country sking the past week, especially since it's been sunny and in the 30's during the day, down into the low teens at night, keeping the lake frozen, the days mild, though we don't really care about it warming up, since we enjoy weather in the teens the most, as long as there is little wind. We tried to go out twice a day, with ipods, and we would ski to the end of Tom's Point and back, taking about an hour, depending on how the conditions were, whether fast or slow. The feeling of being almost alone(except for fishermen) is enriching, as we imbibe the natural world of snow, wind, warmth, the frozen lake, surrounded by trees. I don't think we really knew how to enjoy winter until this year; in Hudson, like most of my colleagues, the winter was something to endure, as we trudged from school, to dining hall, to home, with occasional forays on the bus for games. Rarely if ever did we look at the outdoors as something to embrace, to be 'irrationally happy' with...it was something to endure, and I guess if you have to drive to work each day, that's the way you have to look at winter, plus few have time to really enjoy oneself outside, as we are constantly doing, keeping up with our neighbors and colleagues. Perhaps that's what I have learned the best about a year off, that leisure and freedom allows you to enjoy what you other wise just tolerated. How to keep this sense of freedom and still work is the rub, I suppose. To an extent, we did it the last few years, as we came out to the lake as often as possible, and tried to take advantage of the weekends. Cassells have discovered the beauty of getting away from work, isolating oneself in a environment of outdoor enjoyment, and taking advantages of it. It certainly makes one look differently at winter, at snow and cold, and bemoan it's passing. In fact, the clocks spring ahead this Saturday, alas, making evenings longer but giving us more time to enjoy the light. I wonder if we will be able to find, in spring, the same kind of enjoyment we found this winter. Again, the key is to be outside, to pay attention to the natural world, in this case, birds, burgeoning spring green and flowers, the changing and budding tress, the way the lake changes. If we hike, we will have to enjoy mucking around in wetlands, muddy paths, and see something in those that's enjoyable, even pleasing to the eye. And we will be able to get the kayaks out, enjoy the lake in the spring, even fish more often. The downside or up is we will be on the road for most of April, perhaps part of May, visiting the kids, Ed, and perhaps the Eptings in California. I am excited about driving across the US again, as I love to look at the landscape, to see new towns, to enjoy the going. I hope we can get off of the main highways some, and enjoy the old roads like Route 66, Route 20, other roads that connect the East with the West.