Walk In The Snowy Woods

Since we had no tree, no presents to unwrap, no guests, have no kids, families are thousands of kilometres away, and don't eat turkeys, what to do on the fourth day of the new solar year?

Go for a walk in the snowy woods.

On the 25th it was about minus three Celsius with 70km winds blowing the snow horizontal.

Leaving my back door I crossed the gently sloping field to the edge of the forest. On the way, the wind nearly pushed me over.

Once in the woods the change is dramatic. There it is completely sheltered from the wind among the spruce trees. Unlike crossing the field to get here, it is perfectly still and quiet and the snow gently falls straight down. 

Above in the treetops I can hear the wind and see branches of trees swaying. But down on the ground - crickets... if there were crickets this time of year.

After a short while of moving down the slope through the forest, I reach the sugar shack road. The rough track makes for easier walking so I take it the remaining way down to the sugar maple grove where the shack sits.

A little past the resting maple grove and empty shack I reach the brook at the bottom of the valley. This is my destination and turn around point.

The brook is running high because it is not cold enough to freeze all the tributary streams feeding into it. The sound of rushing water is soothing. 

When I am there I forget everything else, and this is all there is in my world for a few minutes. 

Then I must head back up, lest the setting sun catch up to me before getting home.

This time of year if I take too long it will get dark, cold and scary quickly.

When I get home I will share my pictures with Linda, and she will ask me what I saw on my hike, like she does every time. 

This is what I will report: no wildlife this time - not a single track in the snow, no signs, no sightings, no bird calls. 

Everything in the forest is peaceful, quiet, and snuggled down till spring. 

It is officially winter now, and snuggle down is what I will do once I return home. 

Feel the peace, the quiet, and the opportunity to do nothing, except perhaps indulge in  the simple pleasure of going to bed early.

I start to get sleepy as the darkness descends. Zzzzzz...

But wait!

There are still those beets resting in the moss bin in the garage. They are waiting for me to turn them into pickles and put them in jars for canning.

It may be winter, but the gardening work is not quite done yet. 

Those beets will have to rest a while longer in their mossy bed.