Light, really light, by 6am. When did that happen? Temperature was -4F but the sky as clear as a bell. My two hiking pals both game to walk a new piece of the East Montpelier trail system.
Ice forming in bitter temperatures where a small, slow stream constantly refreshed the supply of water.
Dressed in three warm layers and wearing cleats. Hiking poles proved essential. Even the dirt road leading to the trail head was a glaze. The trails crunchy snow with long stretches of ice. But the sun was shining. Glorious.
Tracks of wild turkey among the tree seed on the snow.
Lots and lots of turkey tracks. Clearly they had food in all the tree seed that has been piling up so thickly on the snow these past few weeks. As we were nearly out of the woods I found a single seed leaf of an American Basswood (Tilia americana). Odd. I looked all around and could not see the tree until we were got to the edge of the woods and there in the field, 50 yards away, was a tall, beautiful tree!
Michael documenting the diameter of a fine, old White Pine, over four feet in diameter.
We came across a very large (for Vermont) White Pine (Pinus strobus) that must have been a fence-row tree in a long ago pasture. I find it impossible to not be inspired by such specimens. Not that “big” is always good, but to think of this tree surviving—actually it appeared to be thriving even though it was very misshapen—all the changes of probably the past 150+ years. Trees like this transcend a human lifetime and that is significant.
Masses of seed in a Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) stand out against the blue sky.
Rather than walk a road back to the beginning, we hiked back the way we’d gone in. I enjoyed a smile thinking of how different seeing the route “backwards” was and how much shorter it seemed. Was it because it was familiar or because I was filtering out what I’d already seen? We humans are so odd!
Back home, tired and ready for a bowl of the soup I’d made earlier. And I still had almost half the day left to fill: errands, talking to people, dinner, a movie, a fuzzy just-past-full moon, time with Liz. I like days like this. Maybe I’ll fit a bit of Calvin and Hobbs to bring it to a close.
Still Learning To See 
It’s always amazing to me how earlier the daylight seems to be after a few days of cloudiness. Those seconds add up. How wonderful to go out on a frigid day. I always feel extra alive – my senses tingling and my nosed pinching shut from the frigid temps. Beautiful shot of the ice formation. And how great that you can identify all the trees – something I’m still working on.
Thanks. Interestingly the Calvin and Hobbes I actually did read last night before retiring was about how cold weather makes your nose freeze shut! The ice was lovely—just a series of gentle ripples but with a depth to their grayness.
Identifying trees: it is like getting to know your neighbors: there really are not that many species to know. As for the Latin names, those I AM still learning! I’m also really enjoying looking beyond the naming and much more closely at the trees themselves. They are so easy to just take for granted.