It's the Most Windiest Time of the Year

I walk out into a snowy morning. I had forgotten how beautiful everything is right after a fresh snowfall! There's about 10" of downy fluff covering the trees, the yard, my truck, the driveway, the driveway... The only thing disturbing the tranquility of the scene is a shovel leaning against the railing. I'd like to get rid of that shovel, just throw it out. It ruins the beauty of the moment. I start shoveling. All this snow. It puts you in the spirit of the season doesn't it? The soft blanket of white draped over the trees. Seeing your breath hang in the cold, crisp air. The squeak and crunch of snow under your feet as you pump up your kite. This is the true meaning of the holidays. Being warm and cozy on a frosty morning, snug in your drysuit. Sharing a session with friends. Sticking out your tongue to try to catch one perfect snowflake as you rotate through a back roll. We New Englanders are hardy people. We have an appreciation of Winter's challenges. A love of that which is cold, hard and miserable. It makes us better people. To go out in the frost. To kite. To love it. This is what we do. It's perfectly normal. A slush puddle with chop in the Corp parking lot Not Normal- O.K. so I'm back to worrying about my head being blown off of my body. 2nd time in 2 weeks with wind to 50 MPH! Brad and I both agree it's windy. We kite in the Chapin marsh for a while, gusty as snot, then ride waves downwind to Corporation. Not Nice and Not Normal- Between Chapin and Corp I get a little cocky and go over the falls on a closeout wave, have a yard sale. I relaunch my kite before it gets trashed, but come in boardless where there's no real beach to land on. There are some shallows, a little sand, and a nice big rock wall. With Brad's VERY MUCH APPRECIATED help I eventually get my board back, land my kite, fix a torn open footstrap, and walk until we find a spot with enough beach to relaunch. While I'm laying out my lines for relaunch on the small beach, I keep losing my bar and lines in the drifts of foam blowing off the water. I have to use my board as a marker to find my bar in all the foam. This is not normal. This is 50 MPH. I relaunch. We make it to Corp. We kite some more. It's a happy ending. Except for the part where I think about what would have happened if I had come in on that rock wall an hour or 2 earlier, at dead high tide. I'm going to bookmark that thought for next time. Today's wasn't the sanest kiting I've ever done but it was pure adventure. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors, marred only by the task of shoveling the walk and driveway in the morning. 2 Turtles- We helped rescue 1 stranded Kemp's Ridley sea turtle at Corp, saw another at Chapin that was too far gone. Downwinder, Chapin to Corporation Beach, Kitesurfed, NW, WNW, 25-50, isolated gusts to 55. 6M RPM/ Mako150, with Brad. Air temp around 32 F.