Sometimes there's nothing left to do but walk out into the icy air and freeze your toodles off! My area of North Carolina has hit record low tempatures for a record long time now... in fact I have been cold for so many weeks now I almost forgot I was cold. Could this be advanced brain freeze... far worse then when eating a new orleans style sno-ball too fast?! I decided I was going to go insane unless I could walk in the woods, and figured walking in and of itself would somehow warm my toes (ha ha, funny looking back i thought this.)The first thing I noticed and happen to love about the snow is all the animal tracks... while pushing my cold feet up the hill through the orchard there was a BIG bunny running away from me! A fluffy white tail, brown body and big ears - it left this beautiful upside down heart as part of it running track. How cool is that?
Further up the trail there were more bunny tracks with dog/coyote tracks following closely behind. Eventually it looked as though it sped up it's stride and made streaky marks like the rabbit did when running away. Possibly though it was stalking and crouching low? Or running it's nose along the ground? Or tired of freezing it's ass off ?
Since my smallest toe on my right foot started to freeze, loose feeling and burn I came down the hill back towards the house. Stopping at the creek fed pond, which is now half frozen. It reminded me of my beloved big pond at my old house in Marshall NC (5 years ago) which froze so hard once you could walk out on half of it. Throwing rocks and sticks on this ice pond, most of it skipped and bounced - even big huge rocks, showing the ice is now pretty thick over on that side. Throwing rocks on ice is fun, but it would rock more if we could ice skate on this thing. :)
I love when the creek creates giant ice bubbly sculptures too! It's like some other planet I am visiting, love, hold in high regard, but want to watch melt all the same. Gawd ...Winter, how i love/hate you.
XoXo
