Toward Spring

I don't have to wear gloves every morning to take the dog on his morning walk. The sun now warms the porch enough in the a.m. to open the living room door and leech its heat. Robins are coming back. North of here Scott is tracking lynx that are pairing up. Chester creek has torn a gash in the ice and now smashes toward Lake Superior. It may be in the forties at best with snow huddled like muted sheep in the shade, but people are cheerily walking dogs, strolling along ice beaten beaches, barbecuing, even playing yard games in the afternoon sun. Friends, apparently hopped up on sun, have asked if we're still in a "deep freeze," maybe wanting affirmation that spring is coming their way quicker. It probably is.

As the temperature dips below freezing in the fall, then below zero, crouching in the nether reaches of the thermometer for days at times, the atmosphere strangely becomes warmer. The notion that New Yorkers' have a chip on their shoulder because of the cold does not hold up here. Perhaps it hasn't been cold enough, or stuck around long enough there to warrant respect. Here people seem to sink into one another, gather in groups as if some atavistic physiological response were at play. Dinners in a warm home become overwhelmingly satisfying, a fire-place seemingly once again the center of a home. Pubs are warmed with the shedding of layers, the satisfaction of fulfilling the basic needs of life. Self reliance is more relevant here. How could anyone not enjoy knowing they made it through a tough winter on their own accord? When spring does erupt into summer, I'm sure its reward is all the richer.

"Why are you leaving right when it is about to get nice?" I've been asked. When I answered that I enjoy the winter I got a look as if I'd just announced my preference for illness over health or hunger over satisfaction. Why some Minnesotans seem to get off on their affinity for the absurdly cold weather makes a little more sense after having spent the winter here. When an arctic air mass slips off the lip of the Canadian shield, it's apparent once again that we share a continent with polar bears, hundreds of thousands of migrating caribou, one of the largest unbroken forests of the world. I had a wolf run in front of my truck just a couple weeks back. He stared at me for many seconds, licked his chops and looked around seemingly disinterested and more at ease with the world than I could ever be.




I've been playing with the movie maker and realize I can add many more pictures in much less space on the page. Not to mention add some music. The song is by a guy who goes by Shiny Ribs and the second by Railroad Earth.

The View From Castle Danger

The following is a sample from a cd project I worked on in my spare time this winter. It means to show how different styles of funk, jazz and hip-hop/turntablism have influenced modern dance music. If anyone out there appreciates it, I'd be happy to send the full disc.

Track 1: A beat and scratch mash-up by me
Track 2: "Insight" feat. Asheru, A Skills Remix, originally by Fort Knox Five
Track 3: "I know a Place" by Katalyst
Track 3: "Bumpin Enjoyment" The Sound Republic
Track 4: "Funkyard Junk" The Sound Republic + scratch session by me
Track 5: "Me, Myself, and I re-edit" by Bambi