Invisible Stick-Up!

There was a break in the snow on Sunday morning, and so we bundled up and hiked up into the game land near our house. It was bitterly cold again/still, about 8 degrees F, but at least it wasn't precipitating. This is what counts as "good weather" these days. But the break would be short-lived, just a few hours, so we got a move on.

We found the beaver ponds in the game lands totally frozen over and covered in snow. They were also covered in tracks: lots of deer tracks, and on one of the bigger ponds, the tracks of a human being and a dog. And so, convinced by the example of the fellow who'd been there ahead of us - who hadn't fallen through - onto the frozen pond we went.

We walked for a long time on the ice, enjoying the unusual treat of visiting corners of the pond that we hadn't been able to access before. I laughed as I took pictures I will never be able to replicate in any other time of year: the shoreline, a long row of pines, as viewed from the center of the pond.

And then, we came upon a strange and interesting sight: a snowman, looking startled, with its arms stuck up high in the air. My first thought: invisible stick-up! (Which is to say, a robbery being committed by an invisible participant, with the snowman as victim.)

Now, I admit I am no expert in snowman anatomy and physiology. There are some unexplained anatomical bumps here and there. A bit lop-sided perhaps, but then again, aren't we all. So it is possible, as I look more closely, that this snow person is a she, rather than a he. Yes, it very well may be.

In which case, perhaps it is a purse that has been purloined. Containing . . . well, who knows what treasures a snow woman might carry. (If she's anything like me, it was a satchel containing about 25 pounds of junk, most unnecessary. But heavy, just the same.) Whatever her treasures, they're gone now. Stolen by an invisible thief on a snowy winter's day.

And so I enter this photo into the group of Internet "invisible ____" memes. (Many of which feature cats, of course. Because the Internet is MADE of cats, don't you know?) Some of the most famous of which are "invisible bike" and "invisible corncob." You can find those two, and many more, at the meme center, here. Some of them are a bit on the adult side. So there, you've been warned!

The soundtrack: the Steve Miller Band, Take the Money and Run.