Posts

Showing posts from January, 2022

The Deep Freeze

Image
 These last 2 weeks of January have been mentally challenging. In terms of temperature - single digits and negative numbers are the norm. When winds above 15 mph are added, it is just inhospitable to be outside. There was an ice storm, a couple of snowstorms with wind, but not terribly much snow has fallen. The ground is covered which is nice, but not enough for snowshoes. I'm hiking tomorrow in the mountains so maybe there will be a snowshoe opportunity then. My walk frequency has decreased to every couple of days so I've upped my yoga practice to compensate. All this to say social interaction and physical activity have dropped along with my mood.  I did host dinner for friends on Friday, spent last weekend at Mom's house, hiked the Tech Park with Susan. Other than that I've been decluttering, painting, reading, and the usual puttering around the house. Sigh.               Tech park hike - spikes required, bluebird sighting.       I finally got to the waterfall trail.

January Continues

Image
 Jan 8 to Jan 15, 2022 Due to sub-zero conditions, a hike with the Hiking Mates was cancelled. So of course Susan, Lyne, and I decided to hike up Hadley Mountain in sub-zero conditions. The trail was aptly described as a stream bed, so this was a hike up a frozen stream bed. We needed spikes the entire way, and even then we were slipping in spots. Fifteen hundred feet of elevation kicked my butt, but I did get to the top with lots of stops along the way. Note to self - eat more carbs pre-hike! Susan introduced us to the Hadley Tree at the top and took a few photos. I thought she was joking about the tree, but the next day we appeared on its Insta! The hike down was much easier on me and we finished the day with dinner at The Davidson's Brothers Brewpub . The fish and chips was great; the coleslaw outstanding.  The next day's forecast was to have an ice storm, and it was spot on. The house was encased in ice so I did not leave except to make my slippery way down to the mailbox

First Week 2022

Image
 A relatively quiet week as winter settles in. When I walk the roads around home, I usually have quite a bit of heat built up, so I can still enjoy a glass of wine in the garden before the below freezing temperatures seep into me. The crescent moon was lit up by Earth-shine so that all of it was visible. A bit of snow was falling, but it was a lovely twilight. I hiked two local preserves this week which I had never visited before: Normanskill Ravines Park and Switzkill Farm. Both were around 4 miles of woods walk, with not much elevation change, though Normanskill did have quite a few ups and downs.  The Switzkill Farm hike started off with one of the mates falling, knocking his head, and being taken off by ambulance. He's OK with just a slight concussion. We ended that hike with a lovely dinner at Maple on the Lake as a brave soul skated on the not yet frozen over lake. The Catskills barely visible in the distance.       Maple On The Lake dining room view. In between hikes, I dona

Happy New Year

Image
 January 1, 2022 We don't always have choices in this life, but when I am presented with one, I try for the optimistic path. Christmas was subdued by Omicron. The comedy show my friends and I looked forward to for months was postponed. The new year dawned dismal and gray. As I assessed the day and my options, one positive note was that the temperature was heading towards 50 degrees. In November I had set myself the challenge of biking every month for a year, and looking at the 10 day forecast, today seemed a perfect temperature to cross January off the list. I decided on a bike ride. After a quick yoga practice to stretch my aching back, I set off for the Mohawk Hudson Bike Trail. I just didn't feel like dodging death by car on this very dark day. As I geared up at Lions Park, I realized only one jacket was needed and set off to the west toward Lock 7. A hiking trail I spied was calling so I took a short detour and a little hike in the woods.  A pretty stream tumbling down a ro