Tag: Sports

The Winter Olympics of 2014 are complete.

They ended with a flourish. Flags. Music. Athletes marching and waving at the crowd.

The participants have scattered now. They packed up skates, skis, and bobsleds along with personal possessions. And a few shiny new medals. Now they are back in their everyday world. Some are practicing their sport. A few announced retirements and will now do sports for pleasure. Another portion will return to balancing that “day job” with training for the next event.

May I propose another closing ceremony?

I’d like to wish WINTER a fond farewell. Please don’t return until you’re scheduled in late December.

This opinion is brought to you by a person that usually enjoys cold sunny days and a little snow more than most. I like the variety of weather in the American Midwest. But really…. isn’t your three months up yet? Please yield the stage to spring before the vernal equinox. Please. Pretty please.

I’ll step back now. I’ll be good — dress in coat, boots, hat, and gloves — when I go for my next walk. I’ll try to be patient. And quiet. But it’s difficult.

Today – Feb 28 – is the final day to purchase Starr Tree Farm and many other Crimson Romance titles from Amazon at the reduced price of $1.99.

Birds. Squirrels. Canines. Humans large and small.

The mechanical treads of automobiles and the maintenance tractor.

The variety of tracks in our snow grows geometrically every day.

It’s something in the air this year. Or lack of something. (Temperatures above freezing.) The fresh white blanket draped over the city by Mother Nature has lingered. It picked up dirt which snowplows exposed when pushing it aside. Trees have shed late leaves and pine needles into its depths. Then, as if doing a little housekeeping — another layer arrives. Parents complain as they make arrangements for another “snow day”. Business owners grumble when customers stay home.

Dogs and children go out to play. They leave their tracks as they practice skills – running, jumping, sliding. Someone has discovered the thrill of using shaped plastic and gravity together. Future bobsledder?

In honor of Olympic athletes — past, present, and future.

One more week. Starr Tree Farm and other Crimson Romance titles for reduced price of $1.99 at Amazon for only one more week. Click on over and pick up a winter romance. http://www.amazon.com/Starr-Tree-Farm-Crimson-Romance-ebook/dp/B00DV0XJB8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392317085&sr=1-1&keywords=starr+tree+farm

They’re here! The Winter Olympics 2014 Edition.

So much to follow. So much to learn as new events are added. Did you know the ladies ski jumping is new this time? Watch the men (and women) fly.

Ice, ice, ice enables figure skating, speed skating,hockey, and curling. Winter sports moved indoors, away from the threat of wind, snow, or sleet. Watch the contestants glide and turn and race and sweep.

Outdoor sports are not neglected. Bobsled teams compete with two and four athletes per sled. Down the run, up on the outside curves, settling back on the straight and across the finish before the spectators can draw a deep breath. I don’t want to look at luge and skeleton contestants whiz past. Skiing exhilarates and thrills in downhill, slalom, giant slalom. Snowboarders twist and flip on a single small platform. While jumpers soar with perfect form.

And then we come to one of my favorites. A sport with practical, military roots.  This is the biathlon, the melding of Nordic skiing and shooting.  Strength, endurance and accuracy required to perform in this contest that’s difficult to view on television.

Which one is your favorite?  Will a new hero/heroine emerge to garner world-wide acclaim?

Winter = the coldest season of the year.

At least that’s the summary portion of the first dictionary definition.

This year it happens that “coldest” is even more chilling than usual. Still we have days of sunshine mixed among those of cloud. And at the latitude of St. Louis a day of above freezing does a lot to shrink the remains of the most recent snow.

Most years the ski, sled, snowman season is short. The regional commercial ski area depends on snow machines and the owners cross their fingers that temperatures stay on the cool side.

This year they are in luck. The snowstorm from early in the month has melted and compacted, leaving only modest dirty lumps where plows pushed giant piles. A little work from nature. Timely use of technology. A drive. A rental fee.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Place to plunge on a snow tube.

Prefer to curl up and read by the fire? Check out Starr Tree Farm.