Winter - Slow down and enjoy the season

As a transplant from the Southern California no-climate zone, I wondered after moving here if I would ever learn to like winter.

Like it? I have come to love winter.

To me, there is something almost mystical about driving down Columbia Drive in my Northwood neighborhood and seeing all of the trees and rooftops covered in white. Stillness and silence enfold the landscape.

I can always tell when it has snowed.

Besides the hum of my neighbor's snow blowers, there is the noticeable absence of birds in the trees. They have all flown away to places warmer for the winter.

I lift our miniblinds halfway up each morning so that my three indoor cats may survey the landscape. They lie on the window sill, their tails still. In spring, when the yard is filled with birds searching for seeds and worms, those cat tails will be twitching madly about, the cats making their funny little "chirping" sounds.

Winter has arrived in the Spokane Valley, signaling a time to slow down.

A family member new to Spokane is now living at our house.

A world traveler after four years in the Navy, our son has some inward hesitation about the perils and pitfalls of the one season he has never lived in - winter.

I cautioned him to get his car fitted with snow tires before the first winter storm, lest he spend the better part of a day either reading magazines in the lobby of the tire shop, or without his car.

We cautioned our weather rookie about leaving his truck parked on the street during the wee hours of the morning when the snowplow comes by. The berm created by this winter wonder can be likened to the iceberg that sank the Titanic.

When the first significant snow begins, I tell him to use Sprague to get home from work. After all, a little time in traffic is better than a slippery slide along a less-traveled residential street.

I have found my alternate winter routes around the Valley after five winters here.

One of my steadfast winter rules is that I never drive on a road that sees little or no sunlight during the day. Its ice is less likely to be melted.

That would include Elton Road, off Upriver Drive, my usual shortcut home. I have had visions of going into The Big Slide and going off the edge as the road turns into Northwood Drive.

No thanks, Elton Road. I'll see you again next spring.

Although my college years were spent in a four-seasons climate, most of my life was spent in an area with no climate at all. Therefore, winter will always be something kind of special to me.

Stroll through any department store in the Spokane Valley and see the acres of mittens, gloves, sweaters, jackets and hats.

My first winter in Spokane was spent cruising sweater heaven in the old J.C. Penney store in University City. I don't think I had ever seen so many sweaters all in one place in my entire life!

We purchased a snow shovel our first winter here. The snow blower would come two years later after we discovered how much human stamina it takes to shovel four feet of hardened snow on a sloping driveway.

So now I can get out of the driveway. But even so, winter roads provide a good excuse for me to avoid going places I don't really have to go. Little running-around-in-the-car trips to do this and that can wait until the roads are clear. In fact, they can wait forever.

Behind our house is a small urban forest - at least what is left of it after Ice Storm. When winter comes to that forest it brings a serene and tranquil beauty that beckons me to slow down.

I am tempted to curl up on the window seat with a hot cup of tea and a good book.

Secretly, I enjoy the short days and the seemingly endless nights. It is winter, after all. And all is right in my world.

Copyright 2000 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.