A Winter Blast

(This title shall remain in spite of the fact that the blog talks about events that took place on a day that was not officially a part of Winter. It was, technically speaking, the last day of Autumn. I suspect that this might bother some purists out there, but they can write their own blogs if they are offended!)

We have experienced very little snowfall in our area since the early days of 2019. The few times that it snowed, it warmed up quickly after that – ensuring that the snow did not stay on the ground for too long. While this pattern may also persist this year, the early blast that we received last week did remind us that Mother Nature can be unpredictable. This time the snow stayed on the ground for many days – long enough for us to experience the wonder of winter during our Sunday morning outing. Our visit to the Dickerson Conservation area of the C&O Canal Towpath was a different experience from usual.

The amount of snow that had fallen was not very significant. The trail itself was relatively easy to tackle. But it sure was cold!

There were signs of cross-country skis having been used on the trail.

We even encountered a person on a bicycle. That was unexpected.I am not sure how the brave rider was feeling about his efforts, but he did turn back a short while after we first saw him.

It was a beautiful scene around us.

The deer hid in the woods, and scattered when they saw my camera being pointed at them.

We saw a committee of vultures warming themselves up in the trees in the cold of the early morning. They were all facing the same direction.They looked like priests inviting a congregation to prayer – to give thanks for another fine morning on this Mother Earth.