snow

Those Snow Bridges
by

Those Snow Bridges

Good Day Bravehearts

The world is welcoming you to this brave new day. A blanket of snow lies covering the earth and the sounds of silence are echoing in our ears. Silence, quiet, peace. The calm of the snow in the dead of winter, where all of the world lies in peaceful dreaming.
Hello! It’s playtime now!
The sidewalks are shoveled. The snow is piled high in deep drifts. The snow plows have worked steadily to clear the roads and traffic is still at a minimum. This awesome day is upon us. Grab your skis before it’s gone, this winter won’t last forever!
The gently falling snow, swirls in large flakes and keeps us shoveling. Up on the ski hill the flat light, keeps us cautious. Picking our way down the familiar runs, twisting and turning and flying like birds. The fabulous rush of the ease of this sport, downhill skiing is just plain fun. Such a nice day and there’s no one around but us.
The joy of a remote place, like a wilderness setting in Canada, is that we have all of the fun.
The rushing, open waters greeted us as we went snowshoeing last week. Snow bridges over open rivers, opening up caverns of cold, icy holes for us to fall into. Down we went, one by one, into the drink. Struggling now to pull ourselves out as our patient companions watch helplessly by. Encouraging words, laughter and abuse, battered and bruised, but onward and onward we brave stalwarts persisted. Up the creek, up the creek, to nowhere. It’s just another afternoon outing into the great outdoors! A chance that we can’t miss, for a warm spell is coming and we’ll loose all of this precious snow.
So although the creek is not at it’s frozen best, we go anyway. The warm winter has left us no, choice. It is wintertime and winter fun is here and we’re going out to play.
The groundhog saw his shadow, of course, he always does. Another bout of stormy weather, more snow, more skiing, more snowballs, snowmen and angels. More shoveling and icy drives, treacherous really, but we’re happy today, in our warm cozy homes. Happy for the winter, the snow and the sports.
Global warming is a curse to us. The warming trends are comfortable. Warm winter full of snow, The icy chill is abating and we can easily go out to play for hours without the threat of frostbite, to curb our healthy habits. The windchill that plunges us into the deep freeze is passing and with it the dangers of freezing skin. This is a good thing, but there are other results. Open water that should be frozen, freeze and thaw, freeze and thaw, pushing the frost further into the ground. This creates conditions of uncertainty with some of our favorite past times. Avalanche hazards, melting snow, thin ice, caution, beware.
This is the dead of winter, when the cold is at it’s chilliest, but those rivers aren’t frozen yet. Beware!
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
February 8, 2015

Those Grey Days
by

Those Grey Days

Good Day Bravehearts.

Welcome to this bleak, wintry, grey day.
Get out your snow shovels and start working. It’s the crack of dawn at 8 am and the weather is socked in for the long haul. Pull on your boots, your warm mittens, coat and hat and with shovel in hand,start your day off right,with a little vigorous exercise.
The cool wind blows damp flakes into your face. Your hair and eyelashes freeze. Your damp breath creates a fog around you and the shovel slides a few inches in the ever accumulating snow.
Paradise! This is what winter is all about.
While we lay dreaming in our snug, warm beds, the soft, wintry white stuff was falling gently outside. Swirling flakes of powder to hide the frozen ground. A winter wonderland of snow covered land to entice us outside to play. The shoveling continues and the path to the road is nearly complete. We’ll be doing this a few times today, as our spirits start to soar, with the possibilities that this climate presents. It will have to stop snowing soon and then we go out to play.
For us, the fabulous cold, is not a harsh, dreadful climate, but rather a change of life. A new joy of living. A chance for a new adventure. The snow presents a new challenge in sport and fun. For us, this is awesome. It’s not all that cold, and snow is fun. Joy! for what this season brings. Strap on your skates, your skis or snow shoes, pull on you boots and build a snowman, drag your sleigh or toboggan to the hill, pile up your defenses for a snow ball fight and smile. The cold, frosty, white north, is a superb play land. When this snowfall lets up, we’ll be raring to go, for we pride ourselves in the skills of these sports. What was once survival, is now a calling. Come on out of your houses and enjoy this day!
The raw elements burn our cheeks and the fresh, crisp, cold enhances our complexions. Rosy cheeks and rosy glow. Beneath layers of insulating fabric, our bodies remain warm against the chill and the adventure of the day starts to begin.
Now, as the flakes are piling up again and the seemingly endless task of digging ourselves out of the house resumes, the exercise bike and barbells lay in wait, as our strengthening task becomes the monotonous shovel, shovel. Will it end? Not until spring. And thankfully, spring is a way off, months of endless winter play away.
The barbells and weight rooms lay in wait for us as we gladly clear our path to the road. The temperature is a balmy -12. Warm enough to be outside for hours.
Now is the season for those much desired national past times. We put on our hats and coats with pleasure and slip into the peacetime of winter escapes, winter sport and winter fun.
written by Dr. Louise Hayes
January 7, 2015

The Real Santa Claus
by

The Real Santa Claus

Hail Bravehearts

The holiday season is upon us, filled with love, light, peace and happiness.
Joy to the world, even nature sings!
Some lucky people witnessed the unusual event of a caribou sighting at Marmot Basin Ski Area, Jasper National Park on December 17, 2014. Eight handsome caribou, made a grand appearance on the ski run. These are eight of only 41 left in the Park.
The significance? Come Dasher, come Dancer, come Comet, come Vixen, come Prancer, come Cupid, come Donner, come Blitzen, and the rarest of them all, the Mountain Caribou.
My photo shows a female caribou and her calf on a snow patch, taken from the top of the Mt Edith Cavel Meadows, in July 2014. We needed binoculars to see them.

http://www.thejasperlocal.com/caribou-make-rare-appearance-as-closures-loom.html Caribou sighting at Marmot Basin, Jasper,Alberta, December 17, 2014

The Christmas season is heralded by a merry old gent in red who brings us gifts of Christmas joy. No poverty during this warm season of friendship, worship and brotherly love. The real Santa Claus is not an elf, but a real person, so revered for his abilities to enact miracles. A marvelous human being with powers so great that he could raise the dead and bring gifts of gold to the needy.

Miracles! The holiday season is filled with joy and fellowship. A miracle of humanity and community sharing, of peace and goodwill. The merry old gent, who fills your stocking, is a saint of immense proportions for humanity. His story is told and his contributions deserve our continued respect. Jolly old St. Nicholas who helped to ease the needs of the poor in his day, is remembered still as Santa Claus.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/ Who is St. Nicholas, the real Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Happy holiday season.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
December 24, 2014

Winter Play
by

Winter Play

Good day Bravehearts!

We rise to a day of fresh falling snow. The wonder of our lives changes with this new season of fabulous fun and adventurous winter. A fine day of fresh tracks at the skihill, of snowshoes and ice skates and warm winter snuggly clothes. Winter is an awesome time of hot chocolate by the fire, of tobogganing, sledding, of building snowmen, of snow shoveling, snow ball fights, ice hockey and winter play.
Gone are the grey days of late, cold fall weather, the end of the mating season and the end of the harvest. The last of this years produce is put down and the seasons canning and storage are complete. Now the snow is falling and winter fun is here!

Rise, oh bravehearts to a glorious day of warm winter fun. Zero is a fabulous temperature, even minus 1. The warm, winter weather of freshly falling snow and the quiet of the snowfall, the crunch of our footsteps on the sidewalk, the clean, white blanket and the fresh, clean air. Gone is the brown of late autumn and the trees curl up for a long winters sleep. The grass is covered with clean, protective snow and the vegetation lies in slumber, beneath it’s warm white canopy. Rest for the weary. For the constant blooming, the constant growing, the constant photosynthesis, the constant producing, leaves the world, at a time like this, and sends it into peaceful slumber, as the winter sets in and whispers to us. Come out to play in the snow!
The snow!
Soft white swirling flakes of snow, each one different, no two snowflakes exactly alike. Each one unique and there are millions and millions of them. A cascade of play, falling to earth, bringing sport and fun. Don your hats and mitts, your scarves and toques, your warm winter coats and warm winter pants. Pull on the long underwear and the extra layer of clothing. Be warm and cozy in the chilly minus temperatures, and play!
This season could last a long time.
The logs are already cut for your fire, the fireplace awaits, it’s crackling flames and the kettle is boiling and calling you, to make another hot cuppa. Chocolate! and tea and warm winters brew. A season of cold remedies and flu shots and days off to recover. The occasional broken bones from falls on the ice, but still, the joys of the season are plenty and duty calls us. Be happy! Winter is here!
Lash on your skates and grab your stick. The very best of Canada and our favourite past times, are winter sports and play. That clearing on the ice, brings about a game. Our national sport, hockey is here. From the time that you are little, until you grow old, the passion of the ice rink or that shoveled spot on the lake, are the call of winter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4–iEOftLZ4&spfreload=10 the beauty of hockey, the greatest game on the planet.

Our mission, to have fun. Our all Canadian dream, to win. This is the time for sport and play. Come on, Canada, get on with the game.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes
November 26, 2014