winter outside: a very cold walk
bundling up anyway.
Do you love the idea of going for long meandering strolls? Do you get excited whenever you come across writing about nature walks? Do you also never actually go for a walk in your neighborhood? That is me.
I love the romantic idea of regularly walking outdoors and getting fresh air - but in practice? It just doesn’t happen. I live in a driving city, I’m not an early riser, and I own no pets. I drive to work, drive home, make dinner and it is dark; walking just isn’t a default part of my lifestyle. I have always thought of my neighborhood as a bit less than scenic, with any nature worth seeing too far way to actually be accessible. Beautiful Minnehaha Creek lines my part of the city, but it’s a full mile’s walk to get there and requires crossing a busy road. We have a lovely community garden just a few blocks north, but nothing grows there six months of the year. I regulary drive by a pond several blocks over, but I’d always assumed it would take ages to walk there and wouldn’t have much worth seeing.
Recently I have felt some encouraging nudges from several different areas of my life to just go for a walk. While winter might seem like the least likely time of year to start an outdoor routine, I think it might be the very best time. During the rest of the year, I am outdoors daily without much of an effort. Dinner is eaten on the patio, beach days and hikes fill up weekends, concerts and festivals are outdoors. In January and February, I spend zero minutes outdoors each day. I exclusively breathe stale air, I live under a blanket, and I have a candle going most waking hours. While winter is most definitely a time for burrowing into stillness and warmth, I am learning I also need a little cold, fresh air and movement to balance it all out.
A few Sundays back, I went on my first walk in the neighborhood. I had been home all day straight through. I had baked and read, all my favorite cozy things. By late afternoon, I felt cooped up. Despite the chilly weather, I put on my coat, slipped on a hat and gloves and headed towards that very pond that had seemed too far to walk to. I told myself if I got too cold or if the wind was too much, I could always head back home. Will you guess what? In less than ten minutes, I was at the pond. And even more, there were TWO PONDS! For the past two and a half years, I was living ten minutes’ walk from not one but two hubs of wildlife, plants, and people, completely oblivious.
On my first visit, there was some light snow on the ground and the ponds were frozen. Along with some dogwalkers and kids playing, several people were out on each pond ice skating. A few weeks later, I’ve been on a version of that same walk several times, in varying temperatures. It’s such a quick part of my day and I only go a couple of times each week, but is it ever a balm.
My nudge to lean into this winter season: go for a walk. Five minutes outside can change the whole balance of your day. If weekdays are tough, Sundays are prime time for a walk. If you are able to, find 20 minutes on a weekday afternoon. Slip on your hat and some gloves, and just take a lap around the block. Maybe you’ll find yourself going one block more; maybe you’ll even stumble upon a little slice of nature you never knew existed. Enjoy the most quintessentially winter-y activity: simply being outside in winter.
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