Column: Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

With all the snow we’ve been having recently it’s beginning to seem like we’re living out the movie “Groundhog Day” where every day is the same. The sun finally made an appearance on Wednesday, and it was so bright that I hardly recognized it.

I have to say that I’ve really gotten into this snow blower thing with all the snow we’ve had the past two years. I still use the old “scoop” to skim off the last layer, but I have to wonder where I would have put all the snow if I didn’t have this snow shoveler’s version of the horseless carriage.

Looking back to my days growing up north of town I still think about the winter days spent roaming the slough by our house. There would be a few of us that would head out up the crick in search of adventure. This usually took place on Saturday unless we were on Christmas vacation. There seemed to be something special about the cold air and how the snow sort of crunched if not almost squeaked as you walked on it.

A kid back then didn’t have a snowmobile suit; they were just called snow suits at that time. We surely didn’t know that there was going to be anything like Thinsulate or Gore-Tex in the future. It was five-buckle overshoes and long johns along with layers of clothes and of course a scarf to cover your mouth and nose.

Now this scarf thing was OK, but it seemed to me that the longer you tried to breathe through it the more moisture it absorbed and sooner or later it would begin to freeze. This in turn turned into an icy crust which could make your mouth and nose chapped and raw. I can still remember vividly the feel of my warm breath as it exhaled into the damp scarf and as the day went on your nose would start running and that was not a good thing. I can remember my mother scolding me for staying outside too long and then gently smearing Mentholatum around my lips and nose. Mentholatum was basically the cure-all when it came to winter, whether it was a chest cold, raw dry skin or chapped lips, that stuff seemed to do it all. I sometimes think that I wouldn’t have survived my childhood if it had not been for Mentholatum and Vicks VapoRub. I still have a small jar of both on hand (just in case).

If you walked in snow that was too deep, there was a good chance that some of the snow would creep down into your overshoe and eventually your foot would start to get cold, and you knew that it would only be a matter of time until you had to end the excursion and head for home. Usually a little snow in the boot wouldn’t deter any one of us, but if you happened to step into a hole in the ice and fill the boot with ice water it would signal the beginning of the end to the day’s adventure.

It’s kind of funny when you think about it — we all knew that there was a good chance of getting a wet foot if we ventured too close to open crick water or even stepped too close to the rushes in the slough. Somehow I almost believe that’s what drew us to walk on the edge somehow wanting to test fate. Kids will do that, you know, and not even give it a second thought.

With all these little obstacles to overcome, we still had a pretty darned good time traipsing through the slough in search of adventure. I guess that was the part of winter that we enjoyed then and some of us that are kids at heart still enjoy a little outdoors adventure during the long winter months. I still enjoy spending some time outdoors on a moonlit winter night. It just may be that peaceful feeling that I get from just being there that makes it special.

Until next time, watch out for thin ice, play safe and above all get outside and enjoy the great Minnesota outdoors!

Remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can keep enjoying the freedoms that we have today.

Dick Herfindahl’s outdoors column appears in Friday’s Tribune.