Making my mark on the New Year

This not skiing season has put me in a kind of bad funk.  When it is 40 and raining I'm in no mood to ski, especially when the ground is ugly brown here in Northfield.  Even a little bit of snow would help with the attitude adjustment I think.  Anyway, this is what greeted me on New Years Eve.  I skipped going up to ski with friends because it just didn't seem like skiing weather.  Then I decided since I wasn't going skiing there was really no reason to leave my house for any reason.  This is an affliction that has been hitting me more and more often on weekends, a bit of  a problem really.  About 11:00 that evening I finally decided enough was enough.  I got my gear together and decided to run in the new year.  Running has been spotty with the cold and ice, but I decided to just get out and go, and it was worth it.  I was running in a kind of snow/slush that at least left everything looking whitish, and when I got out in the arb with the howling wind and darkness I remembered how great nature is.  I saw the fireworks that St. Olaf was setting off in protest of the ball dropping tradition (which was established when fireworks were banned), and when I went out running the next day my footsteps had been frozen in ice.  So for a few days I would have a reminder that I had gotten out and put my mark on the new year.