Makin’ tracks

Ubi Libertas

1 year ago

Scout and Smudge ganged up on me at 4am this morning. They wouldn’t be dismissed and they wouldn’t be denied. I garbed-up and took them out, one at a time, into exactly the kind of Winter Wonderland we’d been expecting.

At that hour, it looked to me like we had three inches of snow on the ground.

I made a pot of coffee. Deb stirred, sipped, and prepared to consult with her boss at 6am about whether or not the bank branch would open today. When that check-in didn’t produce a decision, I went back outside to shovel the area next to the camper, clear the snow off her Jeep and bring it up to the door.

Big snow brings out the big kid in me. I couldn’t resist getting the Ranger out and taking it for a romp, just down the road and back. By the time I got rolling, three more inches of snow had fallen.

No one else had been on the road — I was breaking trail in the fresh snow, and the only tracks were mine. The Ranger and its aggressive tires churned along admirably well, though on the way back up the long 17% grade, I definitely had to keep my foot in it.

While waiting to learn if and when Deb would be going to work today, we brought the dogs out and gave them a chance to frolic. Even gimpy Scout pranced and porpoised.

Snow continued to fall. When it tapered-off to flurries, we had what I’d guess to be eight inches.

It was 10:30am when Deb got the news — the bank would remain closed all day. We rolled the Ranger back out and went for a scoot together.

Earlier, I’d gone as far as the subdivision road. Deb and I continued to the county road. The only other vehicle we encountered was a county sheriff’s cruiser, makin’ the rounds and tracks of its own.

We ended up at Deb’s cousin’s place, where he was warming up his tractor and preparing to plow the road.

It was an absolutely glorious day. Winds were calm. Temps climbed into the mid-30s this afternoon and the sun came out. Snow on the ground warmed and settled to about seven inches, and what clung to the trees stayed put.

To live on this high perch, to gaze out on layer upon layer of steep, frosted slopes, surrounded by these magical woods, is an experience like none other. Just beautiful.