If The Snow Shoe Fits

The forecast called for frigid beauty.

It was a sunny day with bright white snow under a clear blue sky
and only a gentle wind, so most of the snow remains on the branches.
Can you think of any better contrast?

The amount becomes "significant"
when the snow on the railing is higher than it is wide.

Yep, gotta get out there to enjoy the winter beauty.

Snow and ice and everything nice.

Red, white, and blue, with a little green added
for the Italian-Americans.

The ice was probably frozen harder away from the edge
where the snow had insulated the flow from the recent cold.
FYI, snowshoes coated with ice are really, really heavy.

It's good to have a warm place to return to
after being outside in single Fahrenheit digits,
even if one warms up from walking in weighted shoes.

Later that same day,
over the still-open channel,
the reverse sunset illuminate the tops of the trees.

In the opposite direction, all that whiteness turns golden.

And the sky is no longer blue.

Skiing Suburbia

You've probably heard of the blizzard of '66, and of '77.

You may have survived the ice storm of '91.

But now it's time for

THE MINOR INCONVENIENCE OF 2020 !!!

Finally, some snow.  Time to slap on the skis and explore the big back yard, provided by Ridgemont Country Club.

Not a lot of golfers today.

The camera catches the limbs catching the snow.

It's not like skiing in the woods.
It's difficult to smack into a tree.

But you can really see the individual trees
apart from the forest.

The white pines are particularly good at snagging passing snow.

Even with the ice deposited by the previous evening's freezing rain.

Too high for the deer,
perhaps the fermented drops
will get the deer high in the spring.

In the creek,
ice flows as snow falls.

A wind-blown limb
makes its mark in the snow.

It's a glorious day.
Old Glory is flapping for my eyes only,
and now for yours as well.

A trail through the trees is preferred on a windy day.

The semi-random texture of the drifting snow is a sight to behold,
but one's tracks don't last long against the wind driven snow.

Such is life!

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Addendum

Though beautiful, breaking trail through the wind driven snow was a bit of a slog.  Wimpy knees prefer a slicker surface.

The following day, the wind was gone, and lovely large flakes fell gently to the ground.  The skiing surface was delightfully slippery, and the skier parted the flakes with pleasure.

Uphill or downhill or on the flat.
All great!

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Addendum 2

The day after that combined fine skiing conditions with bright sun and blue sky.  

It was a "Great to be Alive" Day!

Don't forget that SPF 2000 !!!

Walking On Water

We reside in a place of spectacular beauty.

This point was driven home on a walk along Stewarts Landing in Stratford, NY, on a beautiful sunny day in early January.

The blue sky reflected in the blueness of the lake
provides one with anything but the blues.

On the frozen shallows, the unmolested snow beckons.
Walking on water is much easier when it is frozen.

The camera is incapable of capturing the bright sun
and what it illuminates in a single image.
But no matter that the picture is full of errors.
The aberrations do a good job of communicating the emotive effect.

Heat from the sun creates the mist rising from the snow.

We walk on through unseen mist close by.

Only distance reveals what is all around us.

Our tracks stretch backward for miles.

The foggy mist is thicker looking forward.

Ice flows jam up as we approach the narrows.

Perhaps unaffected by the surrounding beauty,
running untethered is the great joy of the little dog.

Blue and white and green-tinged darkness.

The mist is illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the trees, ...

... occasionally diffracting into colors, ...

... much like the sunset.

Dashing Through The Snow...

... on a no-horse pair of skis, a few days after Christmas.

The sun is trying to poke through the haze.
It hasn't been cold enough to freeze the flow.

It's not quite freezing and the wind is not quite whipping.  A good day for a trek through the woods.  But since the snow has just a tad of melt on top, it's very slick, so it's also a good day for a healthy amount of caution when headed downhill through the trees.

Enough snow to ski upon, but not enough to bury the rocks and logs.
Also worth consideration are roots and buried limbs
positioned perfectly for arching over fast-moving ski tips and grabbing ankles.
None found this trip, thankfully.

Water gurgles below thin ice.

The large paw prints show that others have also used the trail.
Maybe not all the bears are sleeping.

It's always nice to stop and appreciate the microforest
under the spreading hemlock tree.

The woodpeckers and milli-mushrooms are fond of this tall stump,
sill upright though long past life.

A major mass of milli-mushrooms.

There are many wind-assisted deadfalls in the woods.
The route must be adjusted when a big one has fallen across the trail.

It looks like there has also been a deadfall on the deck.
Ice chunks coming off the roof may have caused this,
but the sleigh marks and hoof prints found
indicate a poor landing caused by overloading.

The metal roots failed to hold this stump upright.
I should probably get right to fixing it.

But I think it's better to plan the fix
next to the nice warm fireplace,
thus preventing rash mistakes.

The North Shore

Mary's brother Mike just had his hip replaced.

We're in Silver Bay, Minnesota, to give him a hand for the first few days of his recovery.  This includes doing things he'd have trouble doing for himself.  Since Mike is an avid outdoorsman, it is very important that we hike with his dog, Chloe.

We decided to take one of Mike's favored hikes along the lakeshore in Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.  To help him feel better, of course.

Mary and Chloe begin the hike on the shore of Lake Superior.
Glorious rays of sunshine poke through the clouds behind the island.
Wave action has removed the snow.

It was a cool and calm day.

The icicles a little higher off the beach
indicated that calm is not always the case.

We left the beach and bare ground.

Mary chose her jacket to match the color
of the fruit of the Mountain Ash (or some similar tree).
She is even stylish when hiking.

The sun broke through and illuminated the lighthouse
as we arrived at one of the favored photo spots.

The ice on Corundum Point reflected the bright sun,
providing a photographic conundrum.

Mary and Chloe assess how the lake goes on forever.

Leaving the snowshoe-packed portion of the Day Hill Trail,
we encountered the stairs leading all the way back down to water level.

Mary demonstrates the proper dance technique for descending.

Many more steps to go.

Berries, beach, and rugged coastline.
The clear blue water, unsullied by human activity,
allows one to see deep into the lake.

More ice formed on a day not so calm.

Even though the deer favored the trail,
their tracks helped little when breaking trail.

And sometimes the deer were no help at all
in breaking through the almost knee-deep snow.
Snowshoes would have been a good idea.

But when you have a strong person to break trail for you
snowshoes are not so necessary.

After the fun became a slog,
we returned to the packed trail and the famous view...

...which we will remember until next time.