Middle of Winter

February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.

-Shirley Jackson, Raising Demons, 1956

I always have a difficult time in the middle of winter. It's the February Blues for me.  I'm tired of it being cold (since November) and I think I tend to hibernate a bit. I stay indoors as much as possible, switching walks outside to walks on the treadmill (not the most motivating way to stay active). I have to do lunch recess duty when the wind is blowing fiercely cold, causing the wind chill factor to make it miserable even in the sunshine. I thought that getting out to go on a hike on Monday with some friends would help the blues, but it was a cool, windy morning on a trail that I doubt I'll go on again.  The Mitchell Trail wanders through the burned area between two mountains for a while and I'm sure it was beautiful before the fire. All that is left now are broken off tree trunks and deadfall. Maybe in the spring when the plants start to bloom, it will be prettier. Then the trail starts to wind up the mountain in a series of switchbacks. Not my idea of a fun hike, but it did get my heart rate up. A friend had a GPS watch and recorded a hike of about 3.25 miles in 90 minutes. At least we finished off the morning by going to the Coffee House Cafe for lunch and a small birthday celebration.  That was fun.

So I do still get out of the house, even though it is February, but I do have to force myself. This morning I went to the dentist for my cleaning and then met some friends at Starbucks. I love these Wednesday mornings since they give me the charge to make it through the rest of the week. Even if it is cold outside.

The turtle is still hibernating, but she does a whole lot of sleep walking. I guess it would be called "sleep digging" since she wanders to another part of the tank and digs into the bark as deep as she can go. Once she wakes up, I guess that will mean spring has arrived. Our household's version of Punxsutawney Phil.

One thing I've noticed is that my daffodils and hyacinths are peeking out of the ground on the sunny side of the house. At least they think it is time to wake up from this winter and I look forward to seeing their pretty colors blooming in the yard.

~~~~~~~~~

Neat