This morning we woke up to ten degrees and about an inch of fresh powdery snow on top of the ten inches or so already on the ground. After we saw Cubby and Charlie off on the school bus at 7:20 a.m., A. turned to me and said, "Hey, want to go snowshoeing in the woods?"
And there was not a single reason why not. So we loaded Jack up in his pack, strapped on our snowshoes, and walked into the woods.
Robert Frost woods, right here.
It was a perfect morning for it. It was cold in the woods--probably right around zero--but no wind, and totally quiet. We scared up a few grouse, but otherwise saw no other animals. Mia spent much of her time shoving her face into snow drifts to sniff whatever captivating scents were under there. Jack rode along happily, and A. and I just moved right along the snowshoe trail that A. has forged on a mile loop through the woods around to the dirt road.
We made it back to the house by 8:15 a.m., with plenty of time to have some breakfast and for A. to have a shower before starting work in his garage office*.
We can't do it every morning, thanks to frequent adverse weather conditions, but when we can, it's a hell of a good start to the day.
* A. is probably the only attorney in the state whose law office contains a gun cabinet, several pairs of snowshoes, and a bed for the dog's night-time quarters. It's very amusing.
Snowshoeing is such a wonderful way to appreciate the woods in the winter--quiet, humane pace, no terror-filled ski trips down hills. Glad you have that opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word on that. Reminds me too much of Alaska.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word for it too. It reminds me of the time I went snowshoeing with the dean of my college at Clarkson, and he stepped on my hand! Mary in MN
ReplyDeleteIf upstate New York is anything like my uncle's part of western Pennsylvania, I think there's a pretty good chance he's not the only one with that list of stuff in his office.
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