The open trail.
The sun rose this morning somewhere off behind the thick gray clouds. With snow all about, the landscape seemed especially wintry. And in mid-morning, as if for emphasis, more snow began to fall lightly all over everything.
Crows flapped and cawed, following the jogger who feeds them—even in snow.
Jack on the trail.
Hand-cuffed to my desk today, occasionally looking out the front window. Traffic seemed to pick up during the day, as (I presume) people heeded the forecast of a big storm tomorrow and decided to get errands done. I can only imagine what the supermarket looked like today.
The snow picked up a bit in afternoon. Finally Jack and I decided it was past time we took off for Beech Hill.
The roads were pretty slippery. We didn’t get to the hill until after 4 and were the first to pull into the parking lot—at least since before the snow. Tiny flakes, flying near-horizontally from the west. We walked quickly up, just breathing in the winter day.
Circled Beech Nut, headed back down. The tiny flakes spattered against my eyeballs. I even inhaled a few. I had to laugh at how Jack will sometimes stop and stick his entire face down into the snow—out of some instinct or other, I imagine. Still light in the gray-blue sky by the time we got back to the truck. The photoperiod increases.
No birds that I could detect on the hill today. I imagine they were all hunkered down in hidden conifer branches or nest cavities.
Birch.
Took a quick spin to town. Lots of motorists out there still—most of them driving slowly and sensibly.
Night fell. Stepped out a minute ago to check the dim sky. Light snow still falling. And, oddly, a crow cawing like crazy from out back a couple houses down.
The folks who predict these things insist we’ll end up with a foot or more of snowfall by tomorrow night. We shall see.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
No birds seen or heard on the hill today
Elsewhere
1. American crow
Beech Nut.
