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| From snow. . . |
Winter in earnest. . .or maybe not quite in earnest. We had snow covered everything one day, warming, and then a 47F day with a lot of fog. This sort of thing makes the long-time Mainers crazy. Today we had snow, sleet, rain, snow. Fortunately, the ice from the sleet didn't weigh down the trees. . .or the electrical lines. It was a great day to make cookies. Of course, Jasper doesn't see any weather as an excuse not to walk, so he and I headed out into the sleet this morning for an hour-and-a-half tour. Instead of that barely audible swish of snow coming down, I heard the tik-tik-tik of ice crystals hitting my hood. Not nearly as romantic, but I have to say that I'm glad Jasper makes us get out on these days. To get ready, though, is quite the ordeal. Jacket? check. Gator? check. Hat? check. Mittens? check. boots? check. Crampons? Check. Goggles? Check. By the time I'm dressed, I either have to wiz, or Jasper has given up. No. Not the latter. He is such a patient soul.
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| . . .to fog |
Yesterday we hiked French Mountain again. It was lovely, and the ice was spectacular. I have come to love my crampons so much. Even so, I had a couple of slips coming down the mountain. I saw Jasper slip once, but he learns quickly. Maybe I shouldn't be quite so quick to cut his toenails. . . built in crampons?
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| The no-excuses hiker |
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| Long pond from the top of French Mountain |
A couple of other items of note. The first is the winter sunset at the bottom of this post. Honestly, I always thought that Boise had the best ever sunsets, but the Maine sunsets rival the best. This was actually past peak, because I had to go in and find my phone!
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| Shelf fungi (photo by Bonnie) |
The second is a thank-you to my hiking friends. But for them, I would miss some of the amazing life that shows itself in the winter. These two shelf fungi were just gorgeous. I have to discipline myself to not only walk, but to do more Seeing in the winter!
And then, of course, there is the daytime view from our living room. I love ferns to death. Thank you, Kathy, for sending me home with one of these beauties, who turned into 4!
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| Shelf fungi (photo by Robyn) |
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| The view from within |
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| Winter sunset, Oakland Maine |
