Snowshoes

I bought a new pair of snowshoes a couple years ago, the kind with an aluminum frame and plastic webbing to provide support. Not at all like the snowshoes I’ve used for many years. These older ones have ash wood frames and leather mesh—and now hang on my cabin wall for decoration.

The other morning, when the temperature hung near ten degrees, I slipped into my fancy snowshoes and set off up the hill south of the cabin. It’s easy to criticize these new shoe shoes as lacking in good looks, historical foundation, or whatever else might tickle your critical fancy.

But they work and work well. Oh, did I say they weigh about half as much as my older model, and are only about a third as long. Anyone who knows anything about snow shoeing is aware of a lot of foot lifting when moving through deep snow—I appreciate the lighter weight and shorter length.

So I am faced, again, with questions: What of the new, no matter what it is, should I embrace? What of the old should I keep using and what should I set aside?
When it comes to snow shoes I’ve made up my mind.



THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Take time to see the whiteness of fresh fallen snow that sparkles and glimmers and covers the grime and dirt of an earlier day. It’s nature’s way of hiding human clutter.


WRITING WORKSHOP: The dates for my writing workshop at The Clearing in Door
County for 2010 are August 8-14. Contact www.theclearing.org for further information.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

January 14, 6:30 p.m. Madison History Round Table. West Side Business Men’s Association. Old Farm

January 19, Noon luncheon. SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) Black Hawk County Club, Madison. Telling Stories—Why and How.