Spring Dreaming

Hello, hi, it’s me popping out of my winter hidey-hole to say hello!

It never fails–for as much as I try to appreciate it, this dark and cold time of the year is always so. hard. I feel cooped up and limited with what I can do given all of the ice and snow on the streets/sidewalks in Boston from the recent blizzard, and taking care of everyday tasks feels heavy and hard. It feels really counterintuitive to leave my warm, cozy home to bundle up and face the elements. Lately single digits in Fahrenheit have been the norm; anything above 20º feels practically balmy.

I didn’t realize quite how oppressed by the winter I’d been feeling until tuning into the new television show A Knight of Seven Kingdoms (the latest in the Game of Thrones universe), filmed in Northern Ireland from June-September 2024. There’s something about stories about people traveling on foot (or in this case on horseback) on some sort of quest, for greatness or otherwise, that just pulls at my heartstrings, then add to that the imagery of green grass, balmy weather that doesn’t require a zillion layers–and warm enough that there’s mud on the ground. I never thought I would miss mud! After weeping through practically an entire episode (in a show that is actually quite lighthearted and funny), I thought, okay, clearly something’s up.

But, for someone that doesn’t really know how to ever stop, winter is good. It forces me to slow down, and I can’t help but spend that time dreaming up new quests. And really, winter is when the magic happens. The legwork, the planning, the training–even if it feels mundane, even if it doesn’t feel like it will make a difference. Great feats rarely happen out of nowhere; it’s all in the planning, preparation, and how much you care.

Keep your chin up. The days are getting longer, and spring will come again.

💫

Thanks for reading. If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, please support Pink Feathers by sharing this letter, subscribing, and/or joining as a paid member. Thank you so much to those who have already done so! Paid members receive my deepest gratitude, exclusive posts, and occasional handwritten notes and surprises in the mail from my adventures around the world.

Credit to Chris Tanner for the beautiful winter photos from our post-blizzard hike around the Fells!

Thank you also to my incredible partners:

My sponsor Mountain Hardwear for supporting my athletic endeavors and adventures around the world. I’ve spent this winter basically living in the Nevadan Down Long Parka, pictured above.

Mount to Coast footwear, amazing for running and walking on trails, roads, gravel, and beyond. You can use my code PINKFEATHERS for 10% off your next purchase.

Strava, where I’ve been logging all of my runs and other activities since 2014. It’s really fun to nerd out and track all of my run data and progress over time. You can use my code PINKFEATHERS for 20% off your Strava subscription.