Going Green In White

Let's get one thing straight at the outset: snow is great for sno-cones, those festive holiday globes and as a secret ingredient in Hostess Snowballs. The occasional sledding party is also fun if it's followed by hot chocolate, and I suppose there's a place for sculpting humongous piles of it into something resembling art. That's it. period. Two weeks of it is enough. But I've determined this winter to overcome it the green way in order to at least get some satisfaction out of the whole messy, winter thing.
I have thus decided that my trips to campus this winter will be made less by car than by other, more environmentally friendly modes of transport. The total distance one way is about 1.8 miles on the road and 1.4 miles if I cut through the woods by the golf course (not accessible by car, however. golf cart? maybe). This is made more feasible by the ability to dress in comfortable layers while packing my work clothes, showering once I get to campus, and generally getting a little exercise in the process.
Biking has become a bit treacherous on the streets-never-to-be-plowed-this-winter in our neighborhood, and the off-road trails are too deep already with snow to traverse without being a rabbit or applying some superhuman pedalling. Thus, the trip around the woods takes about 19 minutes on my bike. Walking quickly the other day, I managed a trip in just under 22 minutes, but I had the wind behind me. Skiing might be a possibility tomorrow since today's snow increased the depth on the streets to just below the telephone poles. Snowshoes are also a distinct possibility. The point is that I refuse to drive in "normal"weather.
When I return to campus at night, however, I drive since darkness is one thing, and being on the streets with people sliding all over in the dark is a totally different and scary thing.
I also must admit to using the snowblower once already this winter. I have shovelled a total of five times, including twice today, so I'm ahead in that category. As long as I'm not in a rush, my back doesn't hurt too much or my sweetie needs to get to work in a hurry, I plan to continue to remove the snow manually. The exercise is good, and I can enjoy some brisk but fresh air at the same time. Though I did repair the chute on the snowblower with a bolt and a wing nut today, it's just planning for the BIG one...Wednesday, supposedly.
All of this environmentally friendly winter activity is designed to make me more healthy, preserve the precious ozone layer and give me something to keep me away from the addiction of Wii...until I'm the featured character in my very own snow globe.
Spending Christmas in Miami will be nice...very, very nice.