Sunday 24 February 2013

A Real Winter and A Rare Visitor


February brought with it one of those old fashioned winters with blizzards, snow, and worse of all, the ice. A few weeks ago, as I was waiting for my grandson to get off the school bus, I noticed the wide thick extensive ice flows in our ditches. My grandson also noticed the inviting ice and decided to slide down the ditches once he got half way up our 1400 foot driveway. With giggles of delight he slid up and down the flows and although the thought occurred to me, that he should have safety gear on, I was caught up with his impromptu outdoor fun. All was fine until he asked me to push him harder on the ice as it wasn’t as fast as appeared on the surface. 

So I stepped on to the surface with care and for a few slides all seemed safe. Then without warning, and so suddenly, I was engrossed in pain and down on the ice surface. I knew it was serious and after 5 hours sitting in emergency with ice packs wrapped around my wrists, it was confirmed my wrists was broken. Of course, the break is with my dominant hand which I put out to break the fall. Fortunately, if one is looking on the bright side, it was a clean break and didn’t require surgery. With two weeks of pain and a reset and another week of pain, I am doing better and only have a few weeks left to wear this cast. There will follow a bit of physio I expect while I wait for strength to return. The only pain left is with my spouse who has had to take on my share of the work load.

I have continued trying to get on with whatever art projects that I can handle with my left hand but it certainly put a crimp in my plans. Now that the weather has settled down, I am drawn wishfully to the woods to take another photo of the old car swallowed up in snow coverage. I look enviously at the West River with a partial blanket of snow, ice and melted middle, wishing for a plein aire painting experience. One day, while looking out at the fields I saw a dark shape slinking across the field, stopping and crouching, and slowly moving forward. I knew it was too big for a cat, and hurried for my camera excited at the prospects. With the zoom, I could see a lynx or bobcat in the finder. Awkwardly holding my heavy Nikon, I clicked for the few minutes left before he melted back into the woods. It’s not the best of pictures as it was at the full length of my field, but it did encourage online discussion of the breed. I believe I have a shot of the elusive lynx. It appeared to be too large for a bobcat. I would have loved to gone out to that far area to see the tracks, but the broken arm was already telling me that I had extended its use for the day.

So while I await freedom from my injury, and from the indoor living I am restricted to, I plan my events for April and the onset of a glorious spring. It will be glorious to me despite the weather it will bring, as I shall be out and about with camera, paints, and walking the woods and fields. New and exciting initiatives also await me with April month and full use of my right arm again.