Cold. Finally, honest to goodness cold.
I hate to be cold. I'm fine as long as I can keep my hands and feet (especially my feet) warm. So long as that's covered, I can run around in rather few layers, even in the depths of winter. But once I actually get cold, it takes hours and hours for me to shake the chill. Having arthritis in my hips and knees also makes the coming of the cold a thing to worry about.
That said, I do not have a full-on hate for winter like so many seem to have. I love breathing in the crisp air, watching the land go to sleep, resting and replenishing itself before the arrival of spring. I love snow- though I do hate driving in it. Too many people here do not understand how to properly drive in snow and/or ice. And yes, here in Memphis, winter is a very drab affair. Gray, lifeless, and things have this...film of dirt that no matter what you do, you can't seem to get fully cleaned off. But I still enjoy winter as much as any other season.
I do wish our falls were longer, though. There is nothing quite so lovely as the sound of leaves crunching under foot, the colors of the trees as the season moves on, the rustling of branches as a swift wind rushes through them. Fall can last a few weeks or a few days here, depending on the year. Which is why I feel no need to run around destroying the signs of fall in my own yard.
I like to see my yard covered in leaves. I enjoy the feel of shuffling through them as I dart to the mailbox or come home from work. The leaves don't harm anything, and as they are broken down and crunched up, they become natural mulch for my yard, such as it is. Now, if I had tons and tons of leaves, enough to threaten the grass if they piled up too much, I'd see about raking the yard. But with what we have? I'd rather let nature do it's thing.
Everywhere I look, though, people are constantly raking and bagging. Our neighbors across the street have their yard done every week. Then they have people come and spray the yard with who knows what to "promote growth and keep the yard green even in the winter." I don't get it. Yeah, we live in the city. But we are lucky enough to live in an area that hasn't been stripped of its nature. Why remove any signs of nature as it changes? Have we really become so removed from the land, from the world, that we can't accept the realities of nature? Or is this insistence on controlling our environment, eradicating the signs of time passing, a way of ignoring our advancing age?
Personally, I think most people just don't give a damn anymore. If it's an inconvenience to them, or worse an eyesore, then it must go. It's sad. Very, very sad.
That said, I do not have a full-on hate for winter like so many seem to have. I love breathing in the crisp air, watching the land go to sleep, resting and replenishing itself before the arrival of spring. I love snow- though I do hate driving in it. Too many people here do not understand how to properly drive in snow and/or ice. And yes, here in Memphis, winter is a very drab affair. Gray, lifeless, and things have this...film of dirt that no matter what you do, you can't seem to get fully cleaned off. But I still enjoy winter as much as any other season.
I do wish our falls were longer, though. There is nothing quite so lovely as the sound of leaves crunching under foot, the colors of the trees as the season moves on, the rustling of branches as a swift wind rushes through them. Fall can last a few weeks or a few days here, depending on the year. Which is why I feel no need to run around destroying the signs of fall in my own yard.
I like to see my yard covered in leaves. I enjoy the feel of shuffling through them as I dart to the mailbox or come home from work. The leaves don't harm anything, and as they are broken down and crunched up, they become natural mulch for my yard, such as it is. Now, if I had tons and tons of leaves, enough to threaten the grass if they piled up too much, I'd see about raking the yard. But with what we have? I'd rather let nature do it's thing.
Everywhere I look, though, people are constantly raking and bagging. Our neighbors across the street have their yard done every week. Then they have people come and spray the yard with who knows what to "promote growth and keep the yard green even in the winter." I don't get it. Yeah, we live in the city. But we are lucky enough to live in an area that hasn't been stripped of its nature. Why remove any signs of nature as it changes? Have we really become so removed from the land, from the world, that we can't accept the realities of nature? Or is this insistence on controlling our environment, eradicating the signs of time passing, a way of ignoring our advancing age?
Personally, I think most people just don't give a damn anymore. If it's an inconvenience to them, or worse an eyesore, then it must go. It's sad. Very, very sad.