Musings on yesterday

Summit Lake Ski Slopes

As usual sitting in front of my fire -early in the morning procrastinating about getting ready and going to school.

Some students smiling because I can't ski.

Went to the local hot springs last night for the second time - it is a good way to kill [that word again] an evening. Actually very beautiful - not me half naked - but the surrounds. Minus two degrees air surrounding a mountain which is clothed in a thick pelt of pines, themselves frosted in snow and a clear sky above with stars, in Banjo's words, having 'a wondrous glory'. And me chilling [if that is the right word] in a very warm pool.

Before that had a brief chat to young Megs, who has currently ran away from the kids and is in Tassie, visiting rels down there. And then ended up chatting with Wren on skype also. Her name is Wren, after Jennifer was transformed into Jenny Wren. She seems to be having a good time down under - which i'm glad about.

The highlight though from yesterday was the school's snow day. Some twenty minutes away from Nakusp is the local ski slopes; Summit Lake. The lake resides peacefully under snow and ice on the north side of the road and the ski slopes take the south. The kids were great and busily went about preparing and getting into the runs on either skis or snowboards. Teachers didn't say [or did not have to say] jack. Even though a few kids turned up to ski who rarely attend school - it's just known that that's them and nobody heavies them or anything and they too are really sweet and polite. Anyway any secret dream i may have had of conquering the slopes were quashed when i saw even the smallest of kids belting down the slopes at full pace only to pull abruptly up a lazy metre before the line - [the line to the rope pull - a poor man's ski lift that drags the kids to the top of the slope]. All of the kids appeared to have been sking or sliding down ice and snow before they were born and i'm sure many had. Sadly the sight of all of this excellence put the brakes on my beginner's steps.

Scenery.....

I recovered a grin, if not my pride, in the afternoon when they opened up the tube run for some of the special education kids, er, and me. The tube run is a specially constructed run with berms on the sides and at the end such that you can't just slide down onto the highway as the tubes have no specific way of braking [or should that be breaking?] Anyway it was fun as hell. I was reminded as i was sensationally sliding that Force = mass times acceleration. An equation that I doubtless re-tested positively as i raced easily to the top of the end berm into the bamboo supported safety tape at the run's end. The manager said, kindly, that the run was fast because of the ice. I did not argue. The students smiled broadly, the sort of smile one makes when a baby messes itself and only the father is there to change it,  too when i boasted i had been at the tube park.

Birds? Well yesterday de nada save for Pine Siskins, Raven and a single noisy Steller's Jay.

Anyway time for breakfast.