ICE AND SNOW

I love winter weather... ahem. Well, I don't actually "love" it, persay. When I really think about it, I do like the coldness of winter to contrast with the warmth of the summer. And, my favourite seasons are spring and fall. Spring especially because I love the smell. Fall has a good smell too, but there is the shadow of winter and darkness that kind of dampens it's loveliness.

I want to share 2 great stories about this fantastic Saskatchewan winter. I find it interesting that I've had two clashes with this season in the span of 2 days seeing as how I haven't had any altercations with it yet. I suppose it may also go along with my intense dislike for January. But, in any case, here is the first story:

Since Hepburn water is not very tasty (there is a lot of iron in the water), I usually get my water from a spring just on the other side of the Petrofka Bridge (north of the North Saskatchewan River). I hadn't been there all winter because I have some pretty large containers for the water and I hadn't needed to go for a while. I was wondering as I drove there on Tuesday (my day off) if they would have even plowed the road to the spring open and maybe I wouldn't be able to get any water after all. But, I turned onto the gravel road to the spring and, thankfully, it had been cleared very recently. The road goes down a steep hill around a little curve and the spring is down a couple of cement stairs. "This is remarkably easy" I thought to myself (actually, I might have even said it outloud to the trees that surrounded me). I filled the containers, put them into my little red Echo, backed out of the "spring area" and proceeded to drive up the hill.... except, my car wouldn't move. I thought I must have gotten stuck in some snow as I backed out, so I got out of my car and walked around the whole thing. Nope, there was only about 1/2 inch of snow around my tires (that had been spinning out). So, I tried to go forward again and just spun. Ice. My favourite thing. Finally, I got moving. It was pretty slowly at first, but it was a forward motion. However, the hill was a little too steep and the momentum not quite enough. Have you ever started to slide backwards down a hill in a vehicle? It's a bit of a wierd feeling.

Eventually, I did get out. It took a lot of patience and coaxing and a lot of praying but I did finally get over the hill and back home safely. I guess I'll have to think twice about going there again in the winter time. Or maybe I'll just bring chains for my tires...

Okay, winter story #2:

Yesterday was youth night in Blaine Lake. I hardly get to go to youth nights because I'm away so much but I have some very trustworthy Bethany students that help out and lead the evenings and they really do a terrific job. Yesterday, was a little windy and gusty, but I called my dad and checked the weather station and there weren't any warnings about driving, so we (the three of us) drove the 1/2 hour out to Blaine Lake. The way back, however, was not so great. And, now that I think about it, I do remember my dad saying "The roads are fine now, but I can't gaurantee what they'll be like later this evening." The wind was so strong and the snow was blowing around so much that at times we would be almost stopped. Sometimes we even ended up on the wrong side of the road. I don't remember ever being in such bad weather. Yikes.

So, there you have it. Two wonderful reasons to be annoyed with winter and to thank God for protecting us as we live through this crazy time of year. Today is pretty sunny (although cold) - as though It (the winter) can convince me that It really isn't that bad... hmmph.