SNOW--Fan or Foe?

[supaiblue]

We have some freshly fallen snow and the flakes are coming down softly. Got some wood on the fire and GL tunes playing. I think snow is one of the most beautiful things mother nature has to offer. Especially like the way it makes us slow down and ruins our "routines." It adds a certain adventure to life.

Gordon Lightfoot has many songs which mention snow. How about you? Are you a fan or foe of snow??

[Tom]

Supaiblue,
Sounds like a nice setting, however, I am a Foe of snow! I hope this is my last winter in a cold weather state. Scrapers, Shoveling, Gloves, etc. Ba Humbug! The only time I like snow is Christmas time!!
*<(


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..."Find the Sunshine leave the rain..."

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"...If YoU fEeL iT yOu BeTtEr BeLiEvE iT, yOu'Re GoNnA sEe It, YoU nEeD tO kNoW/iT iS rIsInG lIkE a FeAtHeR, dIpPiNg & DaNcInG fRoM bElOw/ThErE's A nEw WaVe ThAt Is BrEaKiNg In ThE wAkE oF a PaSsInG sHiP/eVeRy NaTiOn'S gOnNa Be ShAkEn, PuT iT tOgEtHeR, dOn'T lEt It SlIp..."

[midnightmisty]

FAN! Even though I'm very "indoorsy"! Love looking out the windows, etc.

It's alot different when your're a woman who's hubby and the guys at work (when I worked) have always scraped the windshield,
warmed up the car, etc.

"Song For A Winter's Night" and "Whispers Of The North" are two of my all-time favorites!
Since sled dog racing is the only sport I love & supreme test of endurance, I always envision this scene while listening to WOTN: It's a clear, frigid moonlit (sp?) night. A million stars in the sky & one on the ground - Gord. He's cracking that whip through the air & yelling commands to his team of dogs. He looks exactly like he does on the Gord's Gold album, only his moustache, beard & eyebrows are full of ice. He's in a hurry... he's coming home to me in 19th century St. Michael Alaska. (seaport) There's more, but you get the idea. I'm so glad he's married to Elizabeth, but this is the one and only time when he is mine. I've had this in my head for many years before they met.

I once asked him about dog sledding and if that was behind the song! He was flabbergasted at the thought. Not his cup of tea! LOL! He said what everyone else already
realized - that it was about his canoe trips up north. He didn't want to borrow my 12+ hours of Ididarod tapes! Well!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I love the snow because I never really have to deal with the unpleasant side of it much and I love Gord's snow songs!

midnightmisty

[midnightmisty]

p.s.....

I hope this bit of advise isn't considered too far off topic. It regards traveling in snow and ice for our members here. Even in the 45 min. commute to work, my hubby always takes a sleeping bag and a few supplies in case of trouble. We've been trapped in one spot on the road during sudden ice storms and blizzards. Once for 9 and a half hours,
once for almost 6 hours, once for 3 hours in the middle of the Rockies. Also take a collaspible shovel and as much kitty litter in the trunk as you can. Extra weight on slippery roads & can also be sprinkled under your tires for extra traction when you appear to be quite thoroughly STUCK!

sorry for the interuption, but I worry about everyone..... I like the community here &
hope everyone has a safe winter.

midnightmisty

[supaiblue]

Well Tom, I hope you find a warm place and once in a while, when you're listening to GL's snow songs, they'll make you pine away for some snow. But, I also love the tropics and have been to some neat places on dive trips. That's one reason I like GL so much--love the snow songs and also love the shipwreck songs!! He has a song for every place and every occasion!!

I agree Midnight Misty, Whispers and Song For a Winter's Night are right up there among my favorites. I did live in a warm state for awhile and whenever I heard Whispers, it reminded me how much I missed snow!!

[SilverHeels]

Hi Supaiblue - I guess I am a fan and a foe.
I'm a fan when the snow falls on Christmas Eve and melts away on Boxing Day (Dec 26).
One Christmas we were all snowed in at my brother's place up in the hills. It was so
beautiful to look out at - everything so pure and crisp and so silent. There is something very special about that silence
of pure white snow over the landscape.Magic.
The party continued into the morning hours
because nobody could leave. The snow was
about a foot deep in the hills and had
arrived with no warning. We spent the hours
having music requests played via a local radio station.
But I am a foe when it turns to slush and
you have to try and get to work, slipping
and sliding on ice and sinking knee deep
in drifts.
I always ask Santa to send snow just
for Christmas Day and then take it away again! lol 'Song for a Winter's Night' is my favourite 'snow' song, followed by
'Whispers'.
Of course, if I happened to be 'snowed in' with Gord ...

[supaiblue]

Speaking of snow, we are snowed in right now and my knotty pine's branches are really bending...must go shake them off.

Tell us about the holiday of Boxing Day. What is it, why is it called that, what are the traditions??

[supaiblue]

MidnightMisty,

Was wondering if you've ever had the experience of riding a dog sled since you're a big fan of the sport? I got the opportunity to ride a wheeled sled in the middle of the summer which they use for practice. That wheeled contraption sure did fly and I was holding on for dear life!! The dogs really do enjoy it--it's definitely in their blood. I would love to try the real thing on snow sometime!! Your story conjures up the imagination!

[SilverHeels]

Supaiblue, you want to know about Boxing Day?
Well, it falls on 'St.Stephen's Day' - Dec 26. The traditional celebration included the giving of money and other gifts to
charitable institutions, etc. and it probably
dates as far back as the Middle Ages. I'm not
certain of the exact origin but it may have
started with English Lords presenting gifts
in boxes to their servants on Dec 26. I
personally prefer the other theory: Priests
would open the church's alms boxes on the
day following Christmas to distribute the
money to the poor of the parish/village.
That's about it.

[supaiblue]

That's great...every country should have a holiday like that. I'm relieved to know it's not a national holiday for the sport of boxing! Thanks for the cultural info.

[midnightmisty]

Silver Heels,
Thanks for the info about "Boxing Day"! That
is absolutely fascinating!!! (with me being an "Anglophile" and all - I can never get enough info about my beloved "ENGl-u-n-d!!!")

Supaiblue,
No, I've never had the experience, yet, of riding in either a dog sled or a wheeled cart. We used to go to races where they had to use carts because of lack of snow. And
friends used to train with the carts along the Delaware Canal. What fun you must have had! Many people think of it as animal abuse,
but the dogs actually have it in their blood. They've been bred for centuries for
this task. Human survival depended on it. The dogs become wild with excitement when they know they're about to go on a run. These are extremely "hyper" animals!!!!!!!!

And I will never be able to hear "Whispers" without that vision in my minds eye. I think it would have made an awesome Lightfoot video!

midnightmisty

[charlene]

I like to watch the snow fall outside when I am inside. It helps to know that Gord is probably getting the same snowstorm as me - just a few miles down the road!
Char

[Mary Ann]

I guess I am a fan. Down south we rarely get snows and therefore when we do, it is always something to be held in reverence. Its such a peaceful event- could be because when it does snow, everything shuts down, and I mean EVERYTHING!
LOL!
Mary Ann

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by charlene:
I like to watch the snow fall outside when I am inside. It helps to know that Gord is probably getting the same snowstorm as me - just a few miles down the road!
Char

How lucky can a gal get - sharing a snowstorm
with Gord! That has to be pretty high in
the 'Fantasy' list! lol

[supaiblue]

Wow Char, I never thought about that. Maybe, just maybe, he's at home with the lamp burnin low upon his tabletop. And he's looking out across town through the snow towards your house, reading between the lines upon the page of the letter you sent him.

[supaiblue]

Silverheels: Today as I opened my planner, I noticed that the calendar says for Dec. 26: Boxing Day (Canada). I felt so enlightened in knowing what it actually means--thanks again.

[Sheila Ann]

Fan, I think! I catch myself smiling to myself for no apparent reason when I realize it's snowing. Love to bundle up and go for a walk while it's coming down. So peaceful. A blizzard is another story...those should only come on Saturday or Sunday!! Those I can watch from inside with a warm something to drink. People seem so much more friendly and chatty when it snows...even if it's only to grumble and sputter about scraping and shoveling or to tell their own "war story" about how they made it to wherever they were going. Yes, I'm a fan.
Sheila-B

[SilverHeels]

quote:Originally posted by supaiblue:
Silverheels: Today as I opened my planner, I noticed that the calendar says for Dec. 26: Boxing Day (Canada). I felt so enlightened in knowing what it actually means--thanks again.

You're most welcome.

[2Much2Lose]

Foe. I need a trip to Florida each winter just to stay (somewhat) sane.

As for me, for some reason, Song for a Winter's Night always conjures up a picture of a summer thunderstorm in Cleveland.



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"And the laughter came too easy for life to pass me by." - SDYS

[charlene]

Supaiblue - don't I wish!
LOL
Char