the days: dec. 26th and 30th. (note--descriptions of weather are highly subjective.) monday was cool, in the teens, mostly sunny, and a bit of wind from the northwest. friday was much warmer, in the 30s headed toward 40s, mostly cloudy, and no wind.

the adventures: skating on canaan street lake--the northwest bay, from the crowells' dock...soy and me with the pendletons--sans noah & family--and lenny on monday, pam and i on friday.

the memories: on monday the ice was great, at least narrow stretches of it between crusty snowy lanes. even if conditions were not "the best skating ever", it's great to skate...with the pendle-tones! bonus, kelly was there with eben!! double bonus, si was up out of his covid bed, day 1 of negative testing!!! triple bonus, sawyer consented to stuffing his feet into some old hockey skates and go with me!!!! quadruple bonus, lenny was there boosting the 'dutch heritage skaters' contingent!!!!!

friday was different. the week had been getting warmer and warmer and i thought before conditions went totally south, i better get out there. pam came with when i promised her tea and cookies. when we got down to the dock, the ice looked wet. 

she announced "i'm not skating through puddles!" and sat on the milkcrate--with the tea and cookies. i got in a few laps though when i went toward the town beach, i heard some noises, "come back...don't go so far..." i think she was remembering our two friends who fell through last year.

notes:

• wet and starting to get soft ice is bad...
• nordic skates are good on sketchy ice...
• hot tea and cookies are better...
• skating with friends and family is the best...

go outside and play!

finally...snow to ski on--but note, it was extremely wet!

the day: dec. 17th. cloudy, hovering around freezing--more above than below--a breeze of sorts, the ground is now snow white. a foot and a half of heavy, wet snow fell over the past 24 hours. the snow in the rain gauge melted to 2.45" inches of water. it was hard to push!

the adventure: before making a bigger commitment, skip came over and we skied up and over town hill. the plan was to check out the conditions--to see if it was too wet--and possibly head off to steeper, longer trails. 

the memories: the snow was wicked wet...and super sticky. there were a whole lot of tree branches and sticks littering the trail, with some of the early-fallers buried up good and hard to pull out. forgetting the saw, we had to leave a few large blowdowns in place. skip loaded up a bunch of ice under his boot making it like skiing in high heals. beech and maple saplings and assorted evergreen boughs hung heavy with snow load over most of the trail. we had to put our hoods up to avoid multiple neck-fulls of snow.

did i mention it was wet? despite the less than perfect conditions, skip was ready for a slightly paraphrased version of the day--"best skiing of the new season!"

notes:

• it was sooo wet, those japanese fishing gloves--showa 282-02 temres--would have been the 'cat's meow'...!
• don't forgot a saw--even more important than a camera...!
• if you whack the trunk of a tree just as skip passes under its branches, you can land a good plop of snow on his head and shoulders...!
• paraffin wax will help keep sticky wet snow from clumping on the bottoms of skis and icing up under the foot...!

go outside and play!

a post birthday hike on the 'secret sherbie'

the day: dec. 4th. cloudy, cool, and calm--the three c's. given the date, the ground should be snow white--instead it's leafy tannish-brown. except for beach and a few oaks, the leaves are down, the view is up. 

the adventure: for pam's post birthday hike, i took her over to the 'secret sherbie' to show off the newest line. with two major blowdowns removed--somebody with a chainsaw, tractor and bush hog--we hiked past the usual turnaround, to a high spot with a distant view of goose pond. there was a green mtn coffee truck there and pam got a cup before posing. 

the memories: i'm so hoping that whoever ran the tractor up there is not a skier... besides the trail being long ~ish, stone free ~ish, steep ~ish, the main reason we started going over there was to avoid the 'facebook\insta' crowds at all the usual places in the backcountry. in that respect, though a great break, coffee\snack trucks don't help!

the new 'extension' promises to be a sweet ending. it joins up a couple old woods roads via some challenging pitches where avoiding trees--at speed--will be a prime factor in a great run. and it finishes, right at the truck!

notes:

• hiking is nice, but skiing is better...!
• that there are practically zero rocks on the ~miles worth of trails is even better than better...!
• being outside playing with your best friend--despite their advanced age--is absolutely the best...!

go outside and play!      

a ride with friends in 'i can't believe it's november'

the day: nov 10th. sunny, cool~ish morning start. no wind. by noon, it was getting quite warm~ish.

the adventure: another gravel ride with skip, only this time we added a hike as a dear friend kevin rode with us. (bonus, he came over from maine with some garlic for pam and i to plant. double bonus, mariel insisted he bring four beautiful yellow bell peppers from the greenhouse.) we took him up to the 'secret sherbie' to help coax him over to ski this winter. the ride was 16 miles, a few on pavement, most on gravel roads, with a mile or two on the rail trail.

the memories: clear skies, conversations about mean and angry drivers yelling at bikers to "get the hell off the road", a fine stroll through the woods, linda's molasses cookies at snack o'clock, and a stop at the restored tunis school house...

they leave the door open and have a bit of history on display. skip--dedicated lover of historical makers--read that the building was moved to this site, 1/2 mile, from down the road.

notes:

• simon calls this time of year "stick season"--looking at the bare trees behind the school house, it's an apt call!
• this is supposed to be november--why is it hot enough to get sweaty?
• riding with kevin (and skip too) was great--trying to figure out the clicking noise was a fun challenge!
• people still say "car back"!

go outside and play!      

an afternoon cruise through the neighborhood(s)

the day: oct 21st. sunny, cool~ish, and no wind--same as last weekend only not quite as warm~ish. the foliage is getting yellow and golden brown, in the right light a deep orange. and more and more of the leaves are on the ground.

the adventure: another gravel ride with skip, this time with tom in north canaan, a slice of hanover on the east side of moose mountain, and dropping into enfield 'the back way'. i don't have strava or a garmin, but i bet skip could tell us how far we actually road. i will guess 'about 26.5' miles (a classic joke...i'll tell you someday).

the memories: the back roads are getting leafier and leafier. 

tom took this picture with a phone (the one above i took with a camera). it looks like it has some sort of retro filter on. just after this picture, a huge 'carroll concrete' truck met us coming the other way. skip's comment of "he must be lost!" struck me--cement trucks probably don't use strava, but with all the route finding phone aps these days, lost? i don't know how...

notes:

• our 'shortcut' through the woods needs a lot of clearing before i do that again!
• travel apps don't work on a noPhone!
• met dick on the rail trail and he reported another woods road--the one we avoided after the first 'shortcut'--had been much improved. the bridge has even been replaced!
• still true: even post peak, new england in the fall is beautiful!

go outside and play!