Recent weeks in Airdrie have shown we're not out of the woods yet when it comes to winter's icy grip.
While much of February was unseasonably warm and devoid of snow, a recent cold snap and a few dumps of the white stuff have reminded Airdronians not to hope too brightly for an early spring. Balzac Billy may have been off in his recent Groundhog Day prediction after all.
As the calendar turns to March, it can be frustrating to look at the thermometer (or even outside your window) and see a minus sign next to the degree, or a thick blanket of snow still carpeting the ground. But as most residents of the Canadian prairies realize, there's little reason to be optimistic for an early spring. Once it gets to late March and there's still cold weather and snow, OK, then it's a little more reasonable to start grumbling.
For however long winter decides to stick around this year, we'd encourage readers to do what they can to embrace the final weeks (or months) of the cold season. Go for a walk and enjoy how pretty the snow looks on the evergreen trees in Airdrie's parks, or enjoy a game of shinny at your nearest outdoor rink.
If you really, really don't want to get outside, then at least enjoy some of winter's indoor offerings. Check out a local bonspiel at the Airdrie Curling Club (like the Rotary Club's recent 60th annual Ready to Rock event last Saturday) or head to the Ron Ebbesen Arena for an Airdrie Techmation Thunder playoff game.
If you need some motivation on how to get into the spirit of embracing Alberta's winters, look no further than page 16 of this week's paper for our story about Swiss trainer and mindset coach André Belibi Elomou. He was in town on Tuesday night to perform a bone-chilling polar bear plunge in the canal waters of Bayside, to raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Now that's commitment to embracing winter.
