Friday, January 08, 2010

Snowshoeing....

 Breakfast of champions!  After a hearty breakfast  of hot waffles topped with sour cream and homemade chokecherry syrup I was ready to start my day.  It was such a treat to break the seal on a mason jar filled with a little summer sweetness!  We had another cold day again, but the temperatures climbed to 10 degrees by noon-- warm enough for a walk on my snowshoes.

The grandangel came visiting today.  We have a weekly date.  She comes to our house and plays all day long and all the focus is on her!  After a wild rumpus of floor ping-pong and chase, she went down for her nappy and Grammy went out for a walk while Grampy stayed in and listened in case she needed something.

The following pictures will be mostly snowy pictures of my walk.  You really had to "be there" to get the drift (get it?) of the depth and breadth of snow, but at least you will have an idea of what it's like to walk on "frozen water."  (all photos may be enlarged if you click them)



Here are My Woods, a shelter belt of trees that protects livestock on the plains.  It always drifts full of snow and makes the snowshoeing fun.  The drifts are hard in most places, makes easy walking, but walking up and down the drifts is something like walking on waves (I think).  Thankfully I have good snowshoes that have metal teeth on the bottoms.  They can really grip the snow.  There were places where the snow was softer and the dogs and I had a difficult time walking through it.





Here is one of those waves I was talking about.  They are all over in the Woods where I walk.



Snow ball?  It's the top of a fence post.  Looks like something from Whoville.


These are sharptail grouse tracks.  See how they sink in on the left hand side and when they step on harder snow, they stay on top?  Below are circles of grouse tracks.  When I saw them, they made me think of the game "Fox & Geese," a chasing game that we used to play in the snow when I was a girl.



See the bigger dents in the snow?  That's where the snow is soft and the poor grouse fell in a little.  They were all sitting out here when the dogs and I came upon them and spooked them up and away.


These are the three wild turkeys we have living in another shelter belt, not where I was walking today.   J. and I  were out driving and spied them so I snapped a picture of them walking away from us in single file.

12 comments:

  1. I just had to tell you this brought back precious memories of eating *amazing* breakfasts at my grandmother's when I was a little girl. We would visit her on the North Dakota plains each summer. One memory that stands out in my mind were her delicious homemade rolls that we would dip in fresh cream mixed with homemade chokecherry syrup. Mmm, mmm. Oh that we could pick some of those yummy chokecherries here in NE!!

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  2. Learning to Follow,
    Don't you have chokecherries in NE? I would think you could find them along creeks or on farms there. Rolls dipped in cream and chokecherry syrup sounds DELISH!

    Jody

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  3. Oh what great photos! So have you always had sourcream with your waffles? I grew up having sourcream on pancakes, blintzes, waffles and my American friends were shocked to see it :0)

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  4. So...now I want waffles!!!...and, I'm wondering if you could advise me about snowshoes...I'm going to buy a pair for my husband's bday and don't have a clue as yet about which type to buy. He specified functional, not the "traditional" wooden type...and I thought yours looked impressive :-)

    Have a wonderful weekend
    Niki

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  5. Jody,

    The closest thing I've found are Autumn Olives, which I've read are sort of similar. However, I have made jelly and syrup with them and chokecherries win hands down! Really, I imagine the main (only?) resemblance they share is their ruby color. (I'm assuming chokecherries are ruby...)

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  6. Jody, Did you plant the trees or are the a natural shelter? I love trees...and your pictures are wonderful too. I like the wave effect. Dianntha

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  7. Yummy...And all that snow. It is 32 degrees here in Louisiana for one day and no snow and people just don't know how to act.

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  8. I am so glad you included a picture of your snow shoes because I was curious about the. All the snow is so beautiful. And your waffle looks absolutely delicious! Yum! Now I need one!

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  9. Thank you for taking me on your beautiful walk! I can almost feel that prairie!

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  10. I LOVE BIG OLD WAFFLES WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND STRAWBERRIES! I AM SO ENVIOUS OF YOUR SNOW! THESE PICTURES ARE BEAUTIFUL!!! WE STILL HAVE NO SNOW...THANKS FOR SHARING THE BEAUTY! COME SAY HI :D

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  11. lol, what a cute pic following the leader. How delightful Jody to come upon such a scene.
    And by the way I do have a blog, but forgot Haha. Amy is helping me get it up and running.
    Ann x

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  12. Niki,
    My snowshoes are TUBBS brand. I don't know much about snowshoes except that you need to buy the right type for your weight. My snowshoes are very light and have served me well for many years. Google TUBBS and I'm sure you will find good information that will help you and your husband select the right set of snowshoes.

    Jody

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