Ledový

The woods filled up with snow again, and the mist froze on the trees.


The combination of wind and cold was enough to snap some weaker trees in half; below is a pin cherry, rather rotten, that broke off at the eight foot level.

The severe weather culls the forest; only the strong survive, and sometimes not even the strong.

It is difficult to capture the glazed branches glowing in the sun. To the eye, these were full of scintillations. The camera image does not really show these.

Blizzard

Everything is shut. The snow was barely up to the dogs' ankles at 6:30, but now it is piling up rapidly. Winds are out of the South.

We still have less snow than usual for this time of year--but we are catching up quickly. After a mild early winter, we have settled into a cycle of extreme cold followed by storms as the temperature rises.

Sunsteps

At this time of year, the woods are very dark under the canopy, but the sun breaks through in gaps and clearings--the first footsteps of spring appear on the forest floor.

 Here the light breaks through the boughs and needles, and the whole tree is illuminated.

The path is well trodden now; we haven't been using snowshoes for weeks, depending instead on the thick crust.

This is the dead of winter, but I think the worst is behind us. Last night's predicted chill (-27) was nothing more than -18.5.

Frozen

We have settled into some cold weather--this morning sank to -21.5 around 8:00.am. The crust is frozen so rigidly that we can walk as though on firm pavement. We took the West trail home from the campsite (because we could). The frost adds little details to everything: the twigs in a blowhole in the marsh, the glazing on tree trunks and branches. . . .


The shadows are long in the morning. Even at the start of the day it feels as though evening is drawing on. The sun is still very low in the sky.

 Valla likes the thick crust; for the first time in weeks she can leave the trail and go prowling among the trees. She has been relatively frisky lately. She trotted all the way to the Roundabout, right at my heels!