Frozen Steps on a Windy Day
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 21 seconds
“You earned a double ribbon today,” my friend Cindy said as she slowed down to walk with her dog Henry next to me.
“Why, two ribbons,” I asked as the brutal winds chopped my words into tiny ice pellets.
“One for walking daily and the second for walking in frigid weather.”
I nodded and reminded myself I was walking for physical and mental health, not ribbons.
“The lake isn’t frozen.”
“Climate change,” she responded.
For almost a half mile, we talked about the precarious state of our planet and how we have done so little to solve it.
I felt as if I was in conversation with Jan and knew if she were here, the three of us would be on the same wavelength.
“Henry needs to run. Will I see you tomorrow?”
I nodded affirmatively as she and Henry jogged ahead of me.
I will be perambulating on this path in the morning, despite wind chills threatening to break records dating back decades.
It is my unhoused neighbors that I worry about as a frozen gust of wind slams into my face.
The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.
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Walking in a Mild, Grey Winter
"This winter looks good thru the end of the month and into early February," a fellow walker says to me when our paths cross in Nomehagan Park.
I stop petting his dog and remind him that I will walk whatever winter brings..
"Me too," he responds.
He might be correct, as we are over eleven degrees above average for January, and the last eight years have been the warmest in recorded history.
