Winter Wonderland

Winter is at high tide in Madison. After last week's seven inches, this place is beautiful. I went out snowshoeing in a greenbelt south of town, and saw red-tailed hawks and whitetail deer.

It's tempting, when it's really cold and windy out, to spend the whole day indoors. But we really need to push ourselves to taste the season, and not just for the physical stimulation. Showshoeing is good for one's circulation, but seeking out beauty in a numbingly cold day is good for the soul. When the weather gets bad - and the weather gets very, very bad in these parts - and one hasn't learned how to live and laugh with the season, one could easily grow bitter about life in Wisconsin.

When my family moved here, while I was in high school, I was unhappy about the prospect. "Wisconsin?!" I said, "there's nothing to do in Wisconsin." My dad told me something that has changed my life: "When we get to Wisconsin," he said, "You're going to find people living there, who've lived there for a while. Most of them have had the option to move away, but they've chosen to stay.

"Your job is to find out why."

I've now been here for twelve years. My parents eventually had the option to move away, back to Idaho, but I've remained, trying to answer my dad's question. Why do people live here? The sight of that red-tail, floating across a winter wonderland, is part of the answer. It's just a small answer to the question of land, culture and belonging.