Winter offers lots of adventure possibilities that aren’t available in warmer months. If there’s snow, and the outside temperature isn’t bone-chilling, it’s fun to get out and explore the woods on trails. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, winter hiking and camping are all options for the adventurous.
Recently we donned warm clothes and skis and set out along groomed trails in a provincial park. It was a beautiful day. The snow sparkled in the sun, flakes drifted down from trees, and we found lots of tracks proving we weren’t the only ones enjoying the woods.
Bare branches carve their own beauty through the winter woods. Leafless, the woods are more open, vulnerable, and inviting. Even the shadows are different – casting a blue tinge across the white carpet. I often wonder what is around the next bend in the trail or beyond the distant hill.
At one point, we passed a centuries-old log cabin, once the home of an early settler family. Isolated yet built near a river. What was their daily life like? How far away were their nearest neighbours?
Near the river, we found the otter equivalent of a good toboggan hill. The otters had clearly had fun sliding down through the snow to the river. We weren’t the only ones enjoying the snow!
jules for joy 