Second freeze-up; more to come?

Our countryside looks like January. The snow (shower after shower) has finally let up. Temperatures crept back up above freezing, but barely. Pardon my skepticism about assessments that Minnesota’s winters are being diminished by global warming. I’m truly curious to see how much of this may melt before the next snowfall arrives. If the forecast is accurate, I may get to be extra thankful a week from tomorrow as our November thaw sets in.

The roads are clear enough that we got a few errands done today and our travels were uneventful. We have our fingers crossed that the roads dry out instead of (re)freezing. I suspect that the weekend after Thanksgiving we will, as tradition would have it, begin decorating for the holiday season. Most years the outside decorations get hung amidst fallen leaves. This year may involve an exception unless a thaw prevails.

typical conditions for Christmas decorating

Photo by J. Harrington

The Sunrise River pools in Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area are once again ice slush covered. Snow falling and falling on freezing water does not make good ice. This weather volatility really gets messy. I’m glad I’m not looking forward to ice skating on natural ice.

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

By N. Scott Momaday

I am a feather on the bright sky

I am the blue horse that runs in the plain

I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water

I am the shadow that follows a child

I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows

I am an eagle playing with the wind

I am a cluster of bright beads

I am the farthest star

I am the cold of dawn

I am the roaring of the rain

I am the glitter on the crust of the snow

I am the long track of the moon in a lake

I am a flame of four colors

I am a deer standing away in the dusk

I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche

I am an angle of geese in the winter sky

I am the hunger of a young wolf

I am the whole dream of these things

You see, I am alive, I am alive

I stand in good relation to the earth

I stand in good relation to the gods

I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful

I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte

You see, I am alive, I am alive

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