It's the first day of the year...ice, mist, rain. A dreariness has settled in. We were supposed to do a 5k, but opted out after considering the icy conditions. My husband said he felt a cold coming on. I was restless, though, eager to start the New Year off with a blast of energy.
I did get up the hill on snow shoes, though they kept falling off as ice clumped to the metal teeth on the bottoms. Trees and small trees had fallen over here and there on the trail as I trudged up the hill. A snow shoe rabbit had criss-crossed the trail. Did not see any other evidence of creatures.
We have enjoyed observing the construction of a beaver lodge in the wetlands near our home this fall.. Since spring we had not seen the beaver, but last Sunday we spotted a fluffy brown blob on the ice near an opening in our pond. We soon discovered it was one of the beavers. He was munching on something. We dashed into the house to fetch the camera and took some shots before he got spooked and splashed into the open water, disappearing beneath the ice.