Where to?

A fresh dusting of snow last night created a sparkling surface.  The sun is shining bright, but it seems even brighter with such a vast blanket of white.  I can't help but stand out in the middle and look all around.  Evvy was oblivious, running, and digging down to the grass beneath, looking for who knows what?  

No snowmobiles out yet this morning, so once again a freshly groomed trail awaits.  Most of my walk was not on the snowmobile trail.  Breaking trail after a good snowfall is a good workout, so today was no disappointment.  I found a dead spider on the snow!  

I'm always looking for the small details in things even in the snow.  I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Spring Tails.  Those little bugs have "spring tails" hence their name.  They come out later in winter as the days get longer and warmer.  They tell me that spring isn't far away.

Later next month maple sugaring begins again, can't wait for some sugar on snow.

Queen of the Hill

On my way to the barn, I pass these ladies.  Most every day, there is one cow on top of the snowpile.  I imagine them all playing "queen of the hill", just for fun.  Today I pulled over to watch them.  Rather than continue with their recreation, they all trotted right over to the fence.

The cows are Jerseys, at the Crescent Farm.  In summer all of the cows are moved up to pastures closer to where I live.  

Evvy and I took a brief snowshoe at about 8:00 a.m.  But I tell ya, with a foot of new heavier snow, and over a foot in drifts, I had a hard time.  We did not go very far.  I had not had a nutritious breakfast - chocolate chip cookies, 16 oz. coffee loaded with 1/2 & 1/2, and tons of sugar- doesn't give you much fuel to snowshoe with.   I think next time I'll have to break out the old "Beaver tails".  Those old shoes were my grandfather's.  The good thing about them is their boyuancy in the snow.  The modern shoes are far less so, so you sink quite a way down in the snow.  Gaiters or some kind of shell-type pants are a must in this stuff.   I use ski poles too, because it's really easy to lose your balance on some of the hilly terrain.  I am gravity-challenged anyway so poles are a great equalizer.

A Good Day for Anything

For most of the day, the sun was shining brightly with blue skies.  Despite a prediction for arctic temperatures, it remained in the twenties with a light breeze.  Evvy and I walked three miles on the HHH trail #2 to the NH Corridor Trail #6 on Derry Hill in Walpole.  We were passed by eight snow machines going in both directions, usually two at a time.  Each time a machine approached I had to grab Evvy, because she is inclined to chase snowmobiles and cars.  I'm not crazy about sharing the trail with smelly, noisy snowmobiles but I am thankful to the Hooper Hill Hoppers for maintaining the trails.  When we began, a groomer had been down the trail so it was pristine, virginal even.  But about twenty minutes in, the first machines came through, then a couple more, and a couple more.  The fumes that linger on the trail even minutes after the machines go by, just sicken me. The the second picture is of Evvy tearing down the trail at a full gallop.

Anyway, later from the warmth and comfort of my livingroom I watched as snowmobiles raced up and down the hill across the road from my house.  A sled at the bottom, and one at the top.  The snowmobiles took turns giving people rides to the top so they could then slide down.  This hill is famous among locals as a favorite sliding hill.  This year hasn't seen the numbers of past weekends, but there were seven or eight people out there today.  I've seen upwards of twenty before.  The hill is steep and fast, a real blast!

Is that YOUR breath? or MY boots?

Barely zero degrees this morning as Evvy and I headed to the barn.  The sun was shining though, a kind of icy warmth if that's possible.  At least the wind wasn't blowing.   Layering is so important on days like this.  I choose wool, fleece, and silk as my layers from head to toe.  Just toasty.  Unfortunately no matter what I put on my feet, they freeze.   So I keep moving.

Betty, Rosey and Angel have developed a bad habit of chewing on the wood fence rails at the farm.

I think it's because Betty and Rosey are at odds with each other.  The only rails gnawed, are the rails that separate Betty from Rosey and Angel.  Betty and Rosey can't be together while Angel, the foal is present.  Rosey will fight with Betty, in an effort to keep Betty away.  An interesting dynamic.   My friend and I put coated chicken wire up over the rails to dissuade the horses from gnawing.  When I got to the farm this morning I saw that some of the chicken wire had been peeled off.  So I put it back up, knowing the girls would probably turn around and peel it once more.   After turning out, feeding, and mucking the stalls, I brought Evvy out.  I keep her in the truck while I work, to avoid injury to her, and stress to the horses.

Evvy is always on leash while we're at the farm.  We walk down and around the "compoun"(that's really what it is).  Evvy pulled incessantly to try and get under the fence and visit the horses.  I had to rein her in all the time.  Evvy just wants to play, but I fear she might get kicked if I let her go.  Another thing Evvy likes to do is, dig.  She dug her way through the snow, all the way to the soil below.  Half her body disappears into the hole, as she digs her way to China.  Sometimes Evvy emerges from the holes with items in her mouth.

We finished our walk, and got back into the toasty truck. There's that smell!  I didn't think I had carried any manure on my boots.  I looked over at Evvy, quietly munching on one of her fav snacks!  YUCK!  How do they do that?  Why do they do that?!  Being the dog-mom I've become, I reached right over there and yanked the frozen treat from Evvy's mouth.  I rolled down my window and tossed it outside.  I wondered how long Evvy's breath would wreak of horseskatoodles.  It might be a good time for a "Greenie", those dog treats that freshen breath.

BTW the photo reminds us that Spring will come, only a few months away!

Sunny-16 Day

It was a "sunny-16" day! Which means if you set the f-stop on your camera to f16, the photo comes out perfect.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and temperatures lingered at 20F.  We had a pretty hefty load of snow early this morning.  I think there is about 8-9" of new powder.  

I decided that today's snowshoe would be up to the "High Blue" overlook.  I drove up to Scovill Rd. near the radio tower.  You can make this hike from my house but with all the snow, and likely no broken trail, it would have taken me a couple hours one way.  So I parked on Scovill Rd. and walked in via a logging road.  It looked as though maybe someone had attemtped to snowmobile through there a while ago. No one had been through since the new snowfall.  Evvy bounded and rooted through the new fluff.  The view at High Blue was spectacular!  (double click on the photo for a better look) You could see forever, to the west(Vermont).  All the big ski mountains were visible, Okemo, Stratton, Snow.  I could only imagine the perfect ski conditions.  I don't ski much anymore because of arthritic knees. I can do only about 2-3 hours of schussing.  A half-day ticket is just the right amount of time.

After poking around the High Blue we made our way northward through the conservation land, back across the logging road and up to another summit.  The radio tower was to the west, and my destination was a large flat spot of granite where I had seen a Moose once before.   No sign of moose or deer, or anything but maybe a snowshoe hare.  I saw a Pileated Woodpecker which is always a nice surprise.   We made a big sweeping loop westward, and back to the logging road where we met another lady and her Burmese Mtn. dog, "Maggie".  Maggie wasn't all that psyched to see Evvy.  Evvy just wants to play with every dog she meets.   Maggie and her mistress had been following our trail up until we crossed the logging road to moose territory.

They basically headed us off at the pass.  We all walked back out to Scovill Rd, where we met yet another lady and her big Chocolate Lab, "Sebastian".   Evvy wanted to play with him too, and he wasn't phased at all.  So after all the dogs had enough of sniffing their various ends, I collected Evvy and sent her back into the truck.  Another successful snowshoe hike.

Evvy and I headed out at about 8:00 a.m. this morning. I wore my snowshoes, as she bounded through the snow. Sometimes she could walk on top of the crust, other times, she would break through. Our hike was three hours, of mostly unbroken snow up Derry Hill to the north of my house.  I was hopeful I'd see some good wildlife sign, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I found Snowshoe Hare tracks finally.   I have looked on Sheep Hill which is up behind my house.  I found nothing.  The hare on Derry Hill scampered from hemlock to hemlock, hiding from watchful owls.  The Snowshoe Hare is white in winter, so he's very difficult to see.  Today was no different.  Though the tracks looked fresh, I couldn't spot the hare, and wouldn't unless he moved.

There were many Deer trails, Fox, Coyote, Turkey, and Mink(less so).  Not a soul had been walking on this particular trail, it was great. If you look closely at the photo with the yellow sign, you'll see the sign says, "Dang".  Someone had blocked out the "er".  Actually years ago, before I moved here, this must have been an active snowmobile trail.  Years and many downed trees later, the trail markers are still out there, but no snowmobiles are allowed now.   It's just as well, I love the peace and quiet here.  At the end of this trail, we reached an active snowmobile trail.  The Hooper Hill Hopper snowmobile club maintains the trails around here. The trail runs west-east and is part of the NH Snowmobile trail system. It's Rte 6, which has several local trails running off to the south and north.  

I was glad to be on the maintained trail after breaking trail for the last couple hours.  Evvy seemed glad too, as she raced up ahead of me.  Evvy always goes just so far, then she stops to look back, making sure I'm still there.  If I have stopped, she races right back to me.  I always have a treat waiting.  The treat is my insurance she will return.  For now, she has not been distracted enough to keep her from returning.  I always put her back on lead as we approach a road, snowmobiles, or other people.  

We were both exhausted by the time we got home.  Evvy was sacked out on the futon for the rest of the day.  Her nap gave the cats an opportunity to come out from hiding.