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Into The Woods

Yes, it’s true, the weather this winter has been my nemesis. I sigh a lot and think about all the things I could be doing then reach for a cookie. Hmm, my exercise equipment is sitting there and I guess I could run on the treadmill but that would require so much effort. Oh, well. I reach for another cookie and figure I’ll work off the excess pounds this spring. If spring ever gets here. Lin suggested I take a walk in the woods and look for signs of spring and I decided to take her advice.

I look out the windows and see this

I figure I need snowshoes still or I’ll sink up to my neck in snow. No, it’s not sunny but it is a little warmer. I’ve learned to measure in increments now. Degree by degree.

Logan and I head out. Logan lives in a world full of hope; hope that I’ll throw something for him to fetch. I vow not to disappoint him. It’s eerily beautiful out. Grey sky, mist rising from the snow. All swirling around.

And as we start our ascent to the top of the pasture, land and sky converge.

I can tell spring is coming although still distant; something about the way the fog is lifting off the mountains.

We take lots of breaks.

But we keep on going.

We come across deer tracks, another sign of spring; they are starting to move again.

The trees are still bare. It’s a long time before they’ll start to bud.

Yes, our farm is still sleeping under winter’s spell.

Inside our mud room, Mountain Man has almost finished our new closet.

But he’s not pleased yet and has more to do. I return to the computer to share these pictures. Yes, it’s winter here. No, spring is a long way off but how trivial it all seems.

The scenes of devastation from Japan this morning have put it all into perspective for me. Yes, we are blanketed in snow, ice and cold but we are safe, we are warm, we have nothing to fear. My heart breaks for those who have lost their lives, for those whose family members will never return, for those who have lost everything in nature’s fury. No, it’s not spring here but my concerns are trivial.

I had decided to support the Wounded Warrior Project this month with your comments and I still plan to do so but in light of the tsunami, I am adding the same donation to The Red Cross to help the victims of this terrible tragedy.