Over the past month, winter has done its best to turn Bend Oregon into a real-life version of Arendale.  Most of my spare time was spent shoveling snow into piles, clearing the roof of snow, and then shoveling those piles into more piles.  Roofs collapsed, schools were canceled for almost 2 weeks straight, and cabin fever took hold.

But this past weekend, I emerged from the Shadow of The Season and found myself beside emerald green waters ( well kinda brown in some cases ) in the company of good friends.  The mythical unicorn aka Oncorhynchus mykiss yet again proved to be elusive,  with only one being hooked and promptly throwing said hook back in my face. Regardless of the lack of fish in the net, spending days drifting down streams towards the mighty Pacific was just what my soul needed.

There were no piles of snow to push around, no ice dams overhead, just miles of river and hope-filled hearts beside me in the boat.

Back home the IRL version of Arendale was still present this week, but the sun has come out and temperatures stepped above freezing.  This allowed me to go see an old friend across the street.  She still looks great even with all of the snow, and she also reminded me the warmth of spring is not far away.