Skyclad Sunday: Celebrating the start of my leave!

Yes, indeed, Sunday has arrived, being the official first day of my one-week leave... now I have eight solid days ahead to be my true and real hippie self!

OK, I'm not quite doing it the way that Robert Crumb suggests in his classic cartoon version of a hippie - definitely less drugs (and indoors, less clothing, too). But the reactions of the mainstream people satirized here is still quite accurate. Not much has changed about that attitude since the early 1970s, when Crumb made his cult comics (including the one that made him most famous, when it was made into an adult animated movie: "Fritz the Cat").

Still, I feel like those original hippies, inwardly, celebrating my freedom for a while (as photographed in San Francisco, at Golden Gate Park, rocking out in the 1960s):

And, let's also start off this Sunday by celebrating my favourite dress of the day - the amazing skin suit.

Due to temperatures around freezing level outdoors and new snow having fallen overnight, my most comfortable and natural state of being is limited to indoors... I can't help it, I am yearning for spring already, when the time to be skyclad in Nature returns... Feeling the sun on my skin, warm soil beneath bare soles, a soft breeze on my body and floating in water, while taking a skinny-dip.

Well, at least the snow will provide me with a genuine winter fun: snow-footing (as in: barefooting in snow).

After the first snow of the winter season '12/13 arrived on Friday, I have taken the opportunity to dip my bare toes in it and feel the fluffy and cool sensation on the whole of my bare soles. On yesterday's office Saturday, I did so again... on a clear morning with temperatures at -4°C (25F). I began my snowfooting on my balcony, while doing my nuddhist morning exercise (see previous post). And then, around 7.30 am, I began my trip to work.

Here's a glimpse at my feet at the underground bus stop at the central station:

Wait! What??? Shoes????

Yes, indeed... with the snow glazed over with frost, and the low temperatures, I opted for footwear on my way to work. Since using public transport requires standing in some places for a while, I did not want my feet to become too cold too soon. I prepared for my legs staying warm by wearing long underwear and leg-warmers. Technically, walking barefoot would have been possible. Another factor in this equation, however, was the grit and salt thrown onto sidewalks and at bus and tram stops. Especially the salt, while clearing the areas, cooled down the melted snow below freezing level, which would have drained all warmth from my feet instantly.

I chose to take short snowfooting walks later, instead. Going to work, I first witnessed nice color in the sky, looking at an industrial sort of sunrise as well as marvelling in the fluffy and wispy pink clouds, together with a crescent moon in the south-eastern sky...

As soon as I arrived at the office, I peeled off the outer layers of my winter outfit (warm jacket, scarf, gloves) and slipped out of my closed Birks, wiggling my toes and enjoying my barefoot freedom indoors. When the time for my frist break came, I went outdoors, inhaling the frosty air (which cleared my sinuses at once, when breathing in through the nose), then went to the parking lot to soak up a little morning sun, gaze at the shrubbery, which was looking like coated with sugar, and then explored the feeling of the frost-glazed snow underfoot, too.

You didn't expect, that I'd keep my shoes on in the snow all the time, did you?

The whole day was sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky, and when my shift  was over I went to a nearby supermarket, did my weekend shopping and already felt some strain on my knees and hip from the unnatural gait in shoes... and a little pain, too.

While the temperatures, now just around freezing level, would have been perfectly OK by my temperature comfort zone (especially, since a large part of the sidewalks was free of snow), the grit and salt lying around still made me reconsider this. Having to dig out those nasty granules from my leathery pads (as the tend to not just cling but bury themselves into my bare soles when walking) was something I didn't want to do.

My cool-footing comfort zones...

Grit and salt in the mix... not funny to walk barefoot on!

While snowfooting still is a fun thing to do, I am hoping for temperatures rising above frost level, so that I can walk in places next to the grit-strewn strips on the sidewalks and being safe from hypothermia. The snow melting and a bit of rain would also be of great hellp in washing away the salt.

Let's see, what the next days will bring...