yeti and trail, old logging road

canine, evergreens

overlook

 

single track

Today winter arrived. It was -12 F last night and the high today was +3F. I started out for a back road ride and realized I was going to be too cold. I turned around to return home and go for a walk instead. When I was halfway down the driveway I thought, hey if I hit the trails it will be really hard work and really slow, thus plenty warm. And I was right! It turned into a fun ride and my thighs were burning like I'd just done a hard climb.

Sunny winter day...

classic view of lye brook

tracking

track makers

I can never get enough dog pictures

Took the opportunity for a short ride today before meeting the school bus for pick up. It was a glorious sunny warm day. Winter biking this year has been easy with the warmth. Spent some time investigating tracks. We also found an interesting track. Imagine an area where the center is all trodden down. Radiating out from and returning to the center were about 5 loops that extended out for about 10 feet or so. The tracks looked to be some sort of small waterfowl or maybe a corvid. There was no track that lead "to" or "away" from it. The terminus of each loop was a little tussock of grass.

The sound of snow...

When we got home from a long day out with the family I went out for a short ride with the K-9. It was just getting dark. Snow was on the ground. The moon was full. The road was packed icy snow with a touch of powder on top and gravel mixed in from the town plow truck.

This post is about the sound of snow. I tried to record it but failed, so I will try to write about it. Be prepared for some Car Talk style sound description. The paws of the dog alternate between ch-ch-ch and ch-ch as we change pace and his gait changes. The studded tires make a continuous shhhhhhh sound that changes slightly as I sometimes brake as the dogs investigates rabbit tracks or deer crossings. I kept the pace slow to take it all in.