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Cracks

I drove by Evergreen Lake this morning and saw it: the first crack. A big long crack along the lake, running from the mouth of the creek almost to the dam. The first omen of approaching spring.

Walk on the lake
A February walk on the lake with my friend, Linda Kirkpatrick

Just a week and a half ago I was walking all over the lake with my daughter after ice skating at the Lake House. We saw several clusters of fisherman huddling together in the cold over a tiny hole in the ice, hoping for a catch. A few were inside little tents.

We examined a big snow fish sculpture and a castle. We pretended we were on the North Pole, far from anyone. We listened to the distant laughter of skaters. We reveled in the whiteness that surrounded us.

But today, the lake was deserted. No fishermen. The sculptures melting into shapeless blobs. The skating rink empty.

A blue jay couple flitted around the trees near my car, alerting me to what the future has in store.

Hello, spring.

–The Hammster

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Transitions

I hate transitions.

That is, I hate the transitions between seasons. When I am in a season, I am thoroughly and completely committed. I live, eat and breathe that season. It’s winter? I want to ski, snowshoe, feel the snow crackle under my feet, and embrace the cold! It’s spring? I expect warmer weather, birds singing, crisp hikes up Three Sisters. Summer? Cycling, fishing on Evergreen Lake, sunny skies, wine on the deck. Fall? Golden aspen trees, crisp evenings, football games.

But Colorado, with its bipolar weather, pokes holes in that theory. First of all, it’s never really winter, is it? It might be minus 5 for a few days, but then, overnight, the mercury can shoot up to 60 degrees, and what am I supposed to do with that? I can never pack away my warm weather clothes, or my cold weather clothes, because Colorado might change its mind and morph into another season, and I need to be ready

Take today, for instance. 65 degrees, halleluiah! Of course, last Saturday I was hitting all the terrain parks at Winter Park on skis with my husband and daughter. But OK, I can make the adjustment. 65 degrees. I grabbed my road bike, donned riding shorts and a long-sleeved shirt and headed out Upper Bear Creek. And I FROZE. The cold air from the ice and snow still embracing the creek alongside the road reached out into the air all around me and bit. Hard. When I got home, I was shivering, despite the 65 degrees on the sign outside Evergreen National Bank

Come on, nature — give me some predictability! I need to know what to expect!

But the truth is that one of my favorite things about living in Colorado is that we are not held in the tight fist of winter from December through March, like we were back east. There’s always hope that a cold snap will be broken up by a couple of spring-like days. The variety, the surprise, make living in Evergreen so great. So I will try to embrace the transitions! I will enjoy the warmth of this warm winter week, secure in the knowledge that next week we may be back in sub-freezing temps, and perhaps Spring Break will be snowy!

–The Hammster