and one more time

You have to forgive me. We're in that final spin, when weather and life and the imminence of spring all push us out onto the cross country trails, no matter how late it is, how tired we are (rephrase that: I am), how inconvenient it may be to fit in a run in our favorite county park just minutes from the farmette. This is it! The tail end! The snows will melt, spring will come, this is the final push!

And of course, in many ways, this is the best time to ski. The weather is mild: just at freezing in the early evening. The snows are (today) packed and solid. And there's that mellowness in the air, that whiff of a breeze that portends of great things just around the corner (spring!).

So, of course, after work, just as people are settling in to watch the evening news, Ed and I go out to ski.

It's so different today! Yesterday, the snow was a mile high, the winds created dips and valleys. Today, the trails are groomed, the forest is still, life is easy!






Yes, yes, I admit it: these last days of winter are good days. From the morning...





...until that last spin on the trails at dusk. And somewhere beneath all that snow, the crocuses are getting ready for their show. Yes -- life is good.