Snow (I think you have to click here to read...)

I just got back from visiting my parents and brother in Indiana. It was a good trip. Plenty of things to distract from the nightmare that happened in Our Nation's Capital on Monday. While I was there, I got to take some good walks, in spite of the polar vortex and temperatures in the single digits and teens. There is something very peaceful about walking in the snow, especially in the woods. 

On the first morning after we arrived, Daph and I took a short hike on a trail that was recently cleared on a hill at the end of the neighborhood. It's a nice interpretive nature trail, with signs and benches along the way. We could tell from the lack of other human footprints that we were the first people to go up there since it snowed.

We could also tell from the non-human footprints and animal scat that we weren't alone up there.

We aren't 100 percent certain which one, but these pretty much have to have come from either a coyote or a fox. 

Daph followed the tracks, which were themselves following deer tracks, and I'm glad she turned back before finding anything gruesome. I was busy watching the sun come up from behind the trees. It was beautiful and quiet. 

While we were in Indiana, I also went to Mount Saint Francis, which is my favorite place to walk when I visit. I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Up near the entrance, I noticed a bird feeder that is kept full by visitors, so on MLK Day, which is designated a National Day or Service, Daph and I went back and filled it up. We stayed and watched the birds until we couldn't take the cold anymore. It was a much better way to spend the day than watching the horror unfold in DC. We heard some sandhill cranes fly over, which was really cool, but we didn't see them. Someday.

I took a couple of other short walks in the neighborhood while I was there, ate a lot of good food, visited some people I like, and learned a super fun game that I think is called Carbles, or maybe Marbles and Cards. YOU GUYS SHOULD PLAY THIS GAME! It's so much fun. 

On the last night, Daph went to bed early, and I played the game with my mom and dad and brother, and it is not lost on me how lucky I am that I got to sit around a table with those three people and just play a game for a little while.

Some barns look like faces.

Here's a big fat robin, all puffed up in the cold.

 

Rufus had a big time with his cousin, Fergus. Daph took these awesome photos with her new fisheye lens. Look at how much joy these dogs are experiencing in the snow! They did not know or care about the news of the world. Lucky puppies. 

So, it was a good trip. We got home yesterday, and I skipped walking this morning because I have a lot to do at home. But I'll be out there tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it after spending all day yesterday in a car.

If anyone is feeling kind of hopeless and needs an easy thing to do to feel better, you could write a thank you note to Bishop Budde (address below), who eloquently asked the incoming president to treat humans like humans, and is now facing all kinds of hatefulness from a certain group of people. I sent one today. It made me feel good. I think it's important to try to do things that make you feel good. Even if they're very small things.