Until we moved to the beach house, I'd lived in cities my entire life. After my childhood years, the wintry outdoors was just a frigid tunnel I had to endure to get from one indoor location to another. But winter is everywhere out here, and it's tempting. Snow doesn't get promptly removed by trucks and plows the instant it hits the pavement, it's not confined to dirty piles, and you don't have to suck in car exhaust to be out in it. So I've decided to go outside and play more.
Last night, S.B. and I went snowshoeing on Graves Island. We signed up a few weeks ago for a hike followed by chilli and hot chocolate, which was served around a stove in a shelter (a Recreation Nova Scotia event that cost us a paltry $5). I was a snowshoe virgin expecting wooden contraptions, but while they remain one of humankind's simplest innovations, modern snowshoes are metal and more streamlined. I tried them out in deep snow, and they really did keep me afloat. Our guide was an astronomy student who pointed out constellations as we trekked. I can usually spy Orion and the dippers, but now I know where to locate Taurus, the Seven Sisters and Jupiter - currently the most brilliant thing in our winter sky.
Back at home, we warmed up our toes with a hot bath and two tumblers of whiskey.
P.S. - One of our fellow hikers was named Cosette, as in the Les Miserables character! Thought you'd want to know.
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