Come for a Walk in the Winter Woods

It was one of those sunny, blue-sky days that you only get in February, but with a pretty significant wind. My husband went for a jog and so I put on my big winter boots and strolled on up to the gameland with my camera to get some snow photos.

The road to the parking lot had not been plowed, but there were plenty of tracks in the snow. The main path through the woods was beaten down enough that it was pretty easy hiking. The light through the trees was inviting, the cold was invigorating, and the shadows on the snow were blue.

In other news, our household is readying for the Super Bowl, and I made a half-batch of taco dip on this day, so it could sit in the fridge overnight and really get good. I used my friend Ellen's recipe (*see below) and put the dip into small, individual containers for easy self-serving. You may see a photo of those in the extras.

The song for this posting of a sunny day's stroll in the winter woods is Dolly Parton, with Walking on Sunshine.

*My friend's recipe:

Taco dip

Ingredients
2  8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
1  8-ounce jar salsa (mild, medium, or hot, whatever your little heart desires)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever your favorite cheese is), plus some for garnish
½ cup black olives, sliced (they sell small cans near where all the taco stuff is)
1/8 cup green chilies (find them in the same place as the sliced black olives)
Sliced pepperoni (optional)

Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, salsa, and taco seasoning. Fold in cheese, olives, and chilies. Place in a small glass serving dish, or you can use an aluminum disposable one. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. If you go for the pepperoni, you can just layer the slices on top or fold them into the mixture before garnishing with cheese.
Refrigerate covered for several hours (I prefer overnight) before serving. Serve with tortilla chips either at room temperature or cold from the refrigerator. Store covered, in the refrigerator.