In the Grip of Early Winter, part 2

My head throbbed and my lips were cracking from the cold. When it comes to frostbite, it's the wind that gets you. It lowers the temperature and damages exposed flesh. There was a breeze while I was taking the snapshots around the city, strong enough to make me question the sanity of my decision to venture outside.

But onward I carried, looking for those snapshots that told the story of a city beneath a blanket of snow.

One thing I forgot to mention in the first part of this series is the camera strap. I had gone out the previous evening to take some photographs on another side of town, and I only had a wrist strap attached to the camera. This is all fine under normal weather, but when you’re trying to stabilize yourself on wet and slippery ice, it’s easier (and safer) if your hands are free. So, for this little expedition about town I decided to use a narrow shoulder strap that was discrete and kept the camera within easy reach.

The snow had transformed the familiar sights into places of wonder. There’s a reason Canada is called the Great White North. If this was the world of Game of Thrones, then you'd be looking at the realm that lies beyond the ice wall. This sort of weather makes me wonder: How does seasonal climate impact the personality and behavior of people throughout the world? Surely, it does in some ways. You can’t spend months on ends in the cold and darkness without some impact on your mental states. There’s a reason the Danish came up with the concept of Hygge, which is basically the yoga of coziness. An intelligent approach to zoning out in warm comfort.

As I exerted myself kinesthetically, hopping over snowy banks, kneeling on the fluffy snow, skating across patches, I felt very warm, so I turned down the heat on the electronic vest. As I fiddled with this impromptu environmental system, I was reminded of astronauts and future Mars colonizers who will have to work in a harsh environment, which could potentially kill them. They’ll need to wear suits that provide the necessary internal mechanisms and controls to stay alive, while flexible enough to perform tasks like changing a tire, cleaning out the dust off the solar panels from the latest storm, updating oxygen generators, and fighting dune worms.

The wind picked up when I neared the water and my face turned beet red. At one point I became disoriented and ended up in the bad side of town. Tents littered some of the streets near shelters. Sketchy characters with knives in their back pockets walked on in a hurry down snowy alleys.

A police car cruised by with alert cops behind the wheel. I didn’t feel like I was in any danger, but I quickly retraced my steps and headed down more familiar streets.

Some coffee shops were open. Patrons enjoying some hygge of their own this wintery day. The traffic was slow. People were careful as they walked past each other. What a mess, eh? The city still hummed.

On the way back home, I stopped by the bakery and got some goodies. I was looking forward to sorting the images with a nice warm cup of coffee and snacks. Productivity hygge, I call it.

More...

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Images by @litguru

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