Author: Lone Stranger

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Arctic Skies

We are a long way south of the Arctic Circle here, but for a few weeks a year near the Winter Solstice we get some very “Arctic” looking skies, especially the sunrises.  The sun rises slowly this time of year up here, not just late.  There is more time to appreciate how the light looks different when the sky is being lit from below the horizon.

These pictures were taken on a -20°f morning as I stepped out to fetch the paper.  The views are to the West and Southwest respectively where the clouds caught that sunlight coming up from below.

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It only lasted a few minutes, but taking a moment to appreciate that moment can have a lasting and positive impact on how a person feels.  Grand adventures are grand of course, but most of us aren’t able to have them all the time.  These small adventures though are always there for us if we can just spare a moment to notice.

This could have been an annoyance; retrieving the paper on a bitter cold morning.  Instead it became a moment of happy celebration of the season.  A chance to breathe the cold air, feel the sting of it on exposed skin and exist in that moment of faint light and frozen stillness.

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You may not be able to get away on a grand adventure today, but look around and see if maybe you haven’t been overlooking small moments of adventure in your every day life.  Taking the time to consciously enjoy being alive is always time well spent!

New Years Day 2014

We are lucky enough to have this wooded area close to home and enjoy it year round. This Winter has been cold and snowy, just as the Farmer’s Almanac said it would.   Good boots and a sense of adventure required, but a great way to start the new year off.

Finding places close to home that we can enjoy often and without planning isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when we think of adventure, but maybe it should be.  Getting out the door for a walk keeps the spirits up between trips, both working off some of that steam and stoking the fires towards bigger things.  Trudging through the deep snow also really gets my fires stoked up.  I need to find some better venting layers or remember to go slower.  I’m like a puppy out there though…cruising along following animal tracks and then suddenly realize I’m all sweaty despite the cold.

Today is much colder.  It was -20°f this morning and it looks like we might just get over 0° by noon.  Hard to believe but rain predicted for Monday and then another cold snap.  That means I’ve got some roof raking to do today instead of romping in the woods.  I hope you enjoy these views from my New Years Day hike!

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First steps…

Every adventure starts from where we are now.   Sometimes, like me right now, we may not be entirely sure of where we’re headed, but the important thing is to take the first steps.   Hopefully this site will allow me to share not just stories of my adventures, but the sense of adventure that inspires them.   More than anything I’d like to inspire others to get out and have their own adventures.  I’m not saying you should do what I do.  Just make your own adventures whenever you can!