A Walk in the Winter Woods

"Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again."
- Bill Morgan, Jr.

I haven't talked about the weather much lately, but you can probably guess by the number of indoor blips I've posted lately that it hasn't been very hospitable outside.

The University gives us a nice, 10-day break at Christmas, and I always look forward to it. I mostly take my vacation days here and there throughout the year to make long weekends. So some years, the holiday break is the only full week that I have off.

Our official last day of work this year was to be the 21st, but I scheduled the day off. So Thursday evening the 20th found me out running around after work, finishing up my shopping and running errands.

The forecast had called for rain, turning to snow sometime overnight. But the storm moved in early. While I began my errands in mere rain, at some point sleet mixed in, and my drive home was in zero-visibility blizzard conditions, with snow piling up very quickly! The only evidence I had of where the road was were the tail lights of the vehicle in front of me.

I was very glad to make it safely home that night, and I unpacked all my goodies from the car like Santa opening his sack. (Thank goodness for a garage attached to the house; it makes unpacking the car so much easier, especially in inclement weather.)

The weather on Friday included a mix of snow showers off and on, and it was cold. I was glad to stay home. We only went outside to shovel the drive way before the snowy, sleety mess could freeze.

Saturday was vicious: very cold and bitterly windy. We stayed in the house and listened to the wind howl. Winter had come at last.

Sunday morning we woke up to calmer weather: no wind at all, and the temps were a bit warmer. So we bundled ourselves up and walked up the hill into the woods of the game lands.

The woods were beautiful in the snow, and there were tracks everywhere! One of the delights of my childhood spent living by the woods was deciphering the stories of the animal tracks in the yard.

We saw tracks of birds, raccoons, deer, and a cat - whose tracks were big enough and far enough apart that we wondered whether it might have been a bobcat. (Yes, they have been documented in these local woods, but I have never seen one there myself; how I would love to!)

One of our favorite beaver ponds was already half frozen. The other half was in the process of freezing: the magic of crystals, beautifully formed and intricately fit together. Is there any greater miracle in this world than the miracle of fresh water?

We followed the cat tracks through the snow, where they wandered along the woods and ponds, then adroitly walked along a skinny downed tree over one of the ponds. A nimble leap and landing on the nearby bank. Show-off!

We concluded our walk and turned homeward, refreshed and invigorated, our pinks cheek and our eyes sparkling, laughing like a pair of kids. Such a lovely walk in the winter woods!