NOT QUITE SNOWED IN

Hiking the Campground

7:34 AM

Ice  churning

Up at 6:20 to a dark house, lots of snow outside, perhaps a foot or more, but no flurries at the moment though some are expected later this morning.  It's 17 degrees outside, the coldest its been in months, obviously the coldest day of 2012.  It's a good day to sit inside, in a warm house, a comfortable chair, put on the Turkish tea, and finish the novel I have been reading, THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach, a top book of 2011.  It's now 7:24 and the lake looks ominous, dark and threatening, as the sky lightens to a gray/blue, the eastern show discernible, a few lights twinkling.  The lake has yet to freeze but near the shore, the lakes beginning to churn, with a bits of ice, so it won't belong.  In front of our house are are two swans, mixed in with about 30 Canadian geese, awfully late for both.

It snowed much of yesterday, so that it was fun to go outside for a couple of walks, as we love walking when it snows.  Most of our neighbors headed home by noon because of the snow warnings, so we had Woodlawn mostly to ourselves.  We limited our hikes to the Woodlawn woods and the campground and it was great to be out in the snow for the first time this year.  The pines were spectacular, branches weighed down by snow, green sculptures with white trim.  We noticed some seemed to hold the snow better than others, as the Austrian pines in our backyard seem less snow covered than the blue spruce and firs.  There are parts of the campground which are really spectacular, especially around the outdoor chapel area.  The llama, Cookie Dough, was out side, so tell the grandchildren she's doing fine.

We went for walks both in the morning and late afternoon, just to feel the outdoors wind on our faces and get some exercise after a couple of weeks of holiday bingeing.

Winter spectacular

Kinney Stream

Looking Towards Long Point

Dusk: 6:04

For dinner, we had a mannie or two, then ribs and twice baked potatoes and watched MAD MEN, the first year, for the third time.  We are on the 15th show with quite a few to go.  The first year is inconsistent and I can remember turning it off but it finds its legs late in the 2nd season and becomes more consistent.  It's often sickening to watch the smoking that seems to be so much a part of the advertising world at that time.