Our Winter weather has been pretty uneventful. I am still hoping for a dumper of snow, although I honestly don't think it is in Mother Natures plan for us this season.
If we can't have snow, then bring on Spring!
Some snowmobile trail sections were finally opened in our general area, for one short weekend. We didn't even consider firing up our sleds. What we could see of the trails looked terrible from the road. Approaches are understandably worn down, but field riding without good snow cover is rough. Not only hard on the human, but on sleds too.
I always feel bad for the land owners when trails are run into the ground. They generously allow use of their land for others recreation. Seeing said land, is one of the reasons I love snowmobiling.
You get to experience beautiful private landscape, you cannot see any other way.
Public access is not given for hiking, biking, four wheeling, skiing, horseback riding nada ~ only snowmobiling. I know what you are thinking. How do snowmobiler's enjoy any scenery, when they go so fast. Simple, you don't go fast just because you can. We only hit the throttle on boring familiar straight long stretches, if even then. Otherwise we ride at reasonable paces and stop often. We have even packed & enjoyed lunch on our sleds.
I have seen jaw dropping vistas and had many memorable experiences on our rides!
I am really missing it this week. We cancelled what used to be our annual Valentines snowmobile trip north to play in the beautiful Nicolet forest this week. Boo hoo!!
I am trying to keep life interesting. Walking outside helps. We go most days, unless it is too cold for the dogs legs. Many of our Winter days look like this:
Harmony
2/4/22
The first video below is the bottom of a slope, surrounded by trees. The snow piles up along the field/pasture edges. This area has our deepest snow, Tank loves it! His snow play goes on the entire walk.
One good thing about our extended below freezing weather, are the typically bright & sunny days.
We cross fields to get to our woods. Grand dogs Remi & Jameson wander, always. I can't take my eyes off them, especially Jameson the black Lab. Tank is rarely far from my feet.
overnight tons of tiny pine cones suddenly dropped
they typically fall late Autumn
shelf fungi are still commonly seen on down/dead wood
When surrounding snow gets too crusty & icy to pop up, Tank goes back to trying to get me to play with big tree branches.
One of my favorite ways to end our walks is a smoochy from the big guy pictured below. Nemo always comes up to greet me/us, no matter where he is. He stops whatever he is doing to get some attention-n-love. If Koda is resting nearby, he will come up too. Cierra usually comes over from wherever, but won't reach over the hot wires enough for human touch. She must have gotten zapped for doing so at some point. Harmony's willingness to come over for affection depends on her mood.
More Winter views that can be seen most days, from our place to yours:
If you ask Tank a question, you get this face
Tankee always checks back on me
Jameson lives for our walks
Heading out for a late afternoon walk with Tank
Our horses were rotated to the upper pasture this morning.
It has been closed off and therefore not as icy as the lower one.
oaks light up with early evening light
colorful upper pasture
6 comments:
Oh that last photo is so pretty! What fun to have a great place to walk dogs!
Hoping for snow? Haha. Not me! I didn’t realize you were snowmobilers! That must be a lot of fun. My nephew is an extreme snowmobile guy, and has his own shop where he sells them and does custom wraps. His kids are into it, too, and they go every weekend. It’s their life. I have never driven one, but I’m sure they’re lots of fun for the brave! I see why you want snow, but keep it there and don’t share any with us. My mind says spring, even though the calendar says winter.
What lovely walks with your pack. Seems strange that the cones fell so late. I wonder if that means something about the coming weather. In 2021 we also saw a lot of pine cones drop, and then we had an amazing season for morels and huckleberries.
Tank is so funny! What a good boy.
I'm not a sledder, but Ted's son has a shop that builds racing skidoos and does all that fancy work on them.
I think we will get more snow, but we are at that stage of winter where it doesn't last long if it comes.
Lovely photos! we have had a ton of snow but also rain and wild temperature swings. _40 over Christmas and currently several degrees above freezing, it is treacherous to walk, so much ice!
No extreme snowmobilers in my family. We got into it about 10 years ago, when our son quit playing hockey in high school. We agreed to put the money we saved for the upcoming hockey season towards half his first snowmobile. Well, you can't have just one. So we got ourselves an old used one. The kids begged (and begged) me to try it. I finally gave in and then they couldn't get me off! The three of them had to share the other sled for the rest of the afternoon, haaa! Brad tells this story all the time. I fell in love with snowmobiling!! It is actually a family sport for all ages. Who knew. Not me.
Nature is a mystery, I am curious about the cones sudden drop too. I am going to make note of it and see if/what occurs again.
Awww! I was out and about last weekend and stood and watched the snowmobilers! The Kickapoo Valley Reserve has a neat trail on the western edge of it that is groomed for snowmobiles. I bet you'd like that!
Nature. She is a curious and strange master. I usually get to see a good January thaw with water running and one big bad arsed snow storm and ice storm by now.
I sure am looking forward to see Tank again. I'm not quite ready for spring until I get some interesting weather.
However, I am with you.
If all I get the rest of the year is snud -- snow-mud, I'll take some signs of spring.
Beautiful photography! That sunset??? Wow!
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