I went snowshoeing this afternoon. Fred was busy taking snow off roofs and I needed some fresh air and exercise, so I headed out on my snowshoes. I was going to do that earlier this week, but when I looked at the snowbanks around our house that I'd need to climb to reach our back yard and the trails, I lost interest. Today, though, I was determined to get into the woods somehow. I have never used poles when snowshoeing. If the going gets rough I usually can pick up a stick in the woods that will serve the purpose. I do that often when we walk in the woods before snow comes, and have quite a collection of gnarled sticks in one corner of the garage, but I never think to take one with me when I start off. Today I decided to get out some ski poles left from our cross-country skiing days, and found it was very nice to have them. I climbed the three foot snowbank easily, using the poles to keep from sliding back into the shoveled path. Right away I could tell I'd made a good decision. It was difficult to come around to using poles - I see it as a sign of aging, I suppose - but truthfully, it was nice that I didn't need to work nearly as hard as usual to stay upright. There is a good crust under three or four inches of fluffy snow - perfect going except there were places that were apparently sheltered and the crust wasn't very thick so I broke through, but with my poles I was able to haul myself out easily. I knew from the start this was going to be a good hike.

I found a trail that my daughter-in-law, Marie had made, and that was well packed and easy going. She hadn't been on snowshoes the last time she was on the trail, but there were only a few places where she had broken through. There was absolutely nothing moving in the woods. There weren't even any fresh tracks. The sun flickered through the big spruces, but there was not even a breeze as I headed up the path to the far edge of our property line. When I reached the gully where there's a lovely little brook, it was completely still. No sign of the brook at all under the deep snow. There were a few trees tipped over across the trail since I'd walked there, and the old "No Trespassing" sign nailed to one of the trees was barely visible. I realized I was walking on at least four feet of snow.

I had told Fred I'd be out about half an hour, but it was truly lovely in the woods - perfect temperature, the sun was dropping behind the hill - and before I knew it, I'd been gone at least an hour. When I arrived in the back yard, Fred and Woody were looking out the bedroom window wondering where I was. Woody looked as if he'd like to jump down and join me in the snow, but I couldn't coax him into it. Smart cat.

Today I got lots of exercise in wonderful fresh air, and took a few pictures. I'm sorry you can't smell the fresh, cold air and enjoy the quiet of the woods as I did today, but I hope you enjoy the pictures.
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These are moon shots Fred took the other night. It was a night or two after the eclipse, so the moon wasn't full, but close, and it looked as if it was coming right into our living room. He used some zoom and got a couple of nice shots. Click to enlarge.