Another Artist's date walk

Winter does have it's charm and so does spring. I have just loved watching my kids delight in the ice. I remember enjoying stomping on the crackly ice as a kid and really missed all the snow noises while in Texas for a dozen years or so. Now it is all coming back to me and doubly so as I get to experience it again and watch my kids experience it for the first time. It takes us FOREVER to get anywhere on foot, because they have to slide, stomp, scoop up and explore all the different ice types and formations- and there are plenty. The side of the road was all laced up in these ice formations when I started my Artist's walk this week and I was fascinated by all the little designs.


I tried to take what I thought was a cross-country ski trail, but it only lasted a few yards and led into a big open field that was very cold and not so interesting. I kept wanting to go up into the hills and had spotted a deer go up while walking through the trees, so I decided "up it was!" I started on a good path, but then saw a deer path and thought I'd let them guide me. I was led right into the darling deer dormitory. It was eerie and so beautiful. There were about 20 or so nests along this winding little path through the scrub brush. It would be impossible to locate them or navigate it in the summer and was pretty challenging for me to get through even in the winter, but it was plain that this was their bedroom. There were little rounded out icy patches with fur they had shed and a little poop pile by each one. I climbed as I imagined them all bedding down for the night.


When I got to the top of the hill, I saw that I was at the cemetary, where a whole herd was walking about. This was obviously their living room. I laughed inside as I saw them sauntering around, like they owned the place. Their demeaner quickly changed when they caught wind of me and they acted more like the deer I know, leaping away to stay hidden. Since I couldn't find where they had all darted off to, I followed one of their trails out of the cemetary, over a fence that was easy to cross since I was walking on over 2 feet of crusted over snow. I knew it was that deep because at times, I'd break through the upper crust and be into snow to my knee. As I rounded the hill, I scared up a bunch more deer. It was so beautiful to see them leaping off to a less disturbed location. Later I spotted them walking along the road to another bunch of trees.



By this time, I was getting tired and thought I'd come over the hill to go down to the truck, but I was on the wrong hill. I'm telling you, they all looked the same to me. I had to back track and felt like I was reliving the Sound of Music where they climb the mountains as I walked along the crest all covered in snow. I got to our sledding hill and hoped to slide down. I lay on my back, but there was too much friction and I didn't go anywhere. But it was nice to look up into the blue sky and feel the sun beaming on my face. I slowly made my way down some more and got to a steeper incline, thinking I would slide on my side and did I ever! I zipped down quite a ways, with my jeans on the cold snow. At that point I got to time travel a bit as I remembered that thrill of speed down a hill as I'd experienced so many times as a child. I finally got to the truck and felt so good to have gotten some exercise and appreciated so much the deer's giving me the little tour.

As I drove through town to drop off my little cousin last night, we spotted 11 deer by a creek near his house and we saw and heard the geese! I love the geese and am so glad they are back. Spring is on it's way, you just wait and see!