a ski before breakfast

The snow is still here. Lots of it. Despite many well-wished from friends (Jennifer, thanks for the encouragements of spring & the book!) we are still surrounded by at least one and a half feet of snow all around.

This is definitely the longest winter I have ever experienced. However, there is an upside: because of the daytime melting and nighttime re-freezing, the snow is really hard and quite good for cross country skiing. I bought skis in February (thanks to mom and grandma's b.day contributions) and I have been skiing quite a bit. The best part is that I can ski right out of our back door and off into the woods. The struggle is creating a trail, but when the snow is packed hard as it is now, I can ski anywhere with no problem. I went skiing yesterday afternoon, and it was hilarious. I took Buddy along for the romp, but had to hold on to him until we got into the woods. He would pull me for a while until one of the skis would poke him in the butt and then he would shoot ahead, pulling me off balance. We took several tumbles which meant me landing in a heap on the ground followed by Buddy running over to me and climbing onto my crumpled body so as to appropriately lick my face in consolation.

This morning I went for a wake-up ski. Alone. It was beautiful in the woods at 7:15. All I could hear were the birds and the shh-shh-ing of my skis over the icy terrain.