On Such a Winter’s Day

December 27, 2017 A Pugmire

Opening the door just a crack on a winter’s day my Comfort-o-meter, aka my nose, takes a reading of the wet and the cold outside. Anything below 40 degrees and beyond a light drizzle indicates a good day to curl up by the fire, which is where the cat and the dog are already. The forecast also includes the chance of a long winter’s nap. Unfortunately, the 24/7 work world doesn’t believe in naps, so we try to pretend that the seasons don’t really impact us. Beneath artificial lights, we push ahead at the usual breakneck pace despite cues from our body that maybe it would be good to slow down a little.

In winter, the outside world pulls in. Plants and animals suspend growth and go into a dormant state, waiting for a time when more sunlight and food are available. In the human world, however, mortgages, car payments, and work deadlines never sleep, so each day we rise in the dark, don our superhero tights, and head off to work, defying all odds and the laws of nature. There’s a price though. Too little sunlight and too much artificial light can lead to negative metabolism changes that in turn can lead to depression, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and certain cancers. Not enough UVB wears down our immune system making it easier to catch the flu and harder to get over it. It can make us sad, befuddled, and grumpy.

Sunlight infuses us with Vitamin D and nitrous oxide that helps with mood and metabolism. Sunbeams boost serotonin levels and suppress melatonin for more energy and a better frame of mind. Even on cloudy days some of that life-giving light is making its way into your body. However, if you live in the top half of the U.S. or in a particularly gray climate, you may need to supplement with Vitamin D tablets and/or a lightbox. And, it turns out, sleeping just a little more can do you a world of good too.

On the days I can’t convince myself that a jog in the rain or a walk in the snow is a good idea, I make myself at least stand on the front porch. Usually, something just beyond the porch entices me a little further – the neighbor’s dog, a bird, the garbage that needs taking out. Once off the porch, the whole sensory thing kicks in. I breathe a little deeper. The sting of the cold can feel refreshing – in small doses. The larger canvas of sky and trees and distant mountains stimulates my senses in a way a flat-screen never will. For just a moment, all the cares fall away, and I am glad to be alive on such a winter’s day.

– World’s highest motorable road – Umling La or Umlingla Pass in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir – at 5,883 meters or 19,300 feet above sea level.

– World’s lowest motorable road – Route 90 in Israel passing along the western bank of the Dead Sea at a -423 meters or 1,388 feet below sea level (Note: there are lower elevations but this is considered the lowest motorable road.)

– Straightest Road – The Eyre Highway in Australia that is a 90 mile stretch of road without a single curve – which pales beside highway 10 in Saudi Arabia – 140 miles of straight blacktop with only a slight bend near the Emirati border.

– Most crooked road – Lombard Street in San Francisco still retains that honor according to the Guinness World Record Book – it’s 8 hairpin turns equal 1,440 degrees of curved road in only 400 meters, and it has a mandatory 5 mph speed limit.

– Longest road – the Pan American Highway that links both North and South American except for a 100 km distance called the Darien Gap – the approximate length is 48,000 km or 29,826 miles.

– Oldest road – a stone paved road in a desolate corner of Egypt linking a basalt quarry to a waterway for transportation – estimates put it at 4,600 years old.

The Roads

I stand on the windy uplands among the hills of Down
With all the world spread out beneath, meadow and sea and town,
And ploughlands on the far-off hills that glow with friendly brown.

And ever across the rolling land to the far horizon line,
Where the blue hills border the misty west, I see the white roads twine,
The rare roads and the fair roads that call this heart of mine.

I see them dip in the valleys and vanish and rise and bend
From shadowy dell to windswept fell, and still to the West they wend,
And over the cold blue ridge at last to the great world’s uttermost end.

And the call of the roads is upon me, a desire in my spirit has grown
To wander forth in the highways, ‘twixt earth and sky alone,
And seek for the lands no foot has trod and the seas no sail has known:

For the lands to the west of the evening and east of the morning’s birth,
Where the gods unseen in their valleys green are glad at the ends of the earth
And fear no morrow to bring them sorrow, nor night to quench their mirth.

C.S.Lewis

Create a backyard treasure hunt using clues that require compass readings or rely on cardinal directions – north, south , east, west.

To make a map for players to follow print out an online Google maps picture of your yard (or park – wherever you choose to do this). Use a colored pen to mark compass points on the map so that players can orient themselves to their surroundings.

Keep instructions simple.

You can create a map for each player, leading to an individual treasure, or divide players up into teams for a team treasure hunt.

Players can use a compass, a GPS device, or phone to point them in the right direction, or if they are especially observant, their own observations of the sun.

When the treasure has been found, challenge the players to create their own treasure map. Trade maps with another player and follow the clues to a new treasure.

Favorite treasures at our house have been edibles packed in Ziplocs, but a close second was a plaster of paris turtle my mother painted in garish colors that could be buried and reburied a hundred times without altering its appearance.