Walking to the Creek

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

I invited grand-dog Sadie to walk, and she just stared at me from the bed. It was her way of telling me I was crazy. Maybe she realized the cold might hurt her paws, since the thermometer showed 19 F (-7.22 C) outside. If she had been with me, I would not have gone to the creek, but would have turned around at the stop sign. Being alone freed me to frolic on the frozen puddles. I adore the sound of cracking ice when you tap a puddle that has frozen over. Most of them were frozen solid, but there were a few excellent ones where the water had evaporated, leaving an ice top hanging in place. If my fingers had stayed warm, I would have tried a selfie video to showcase the sound.

A man I didn’t know rolled his window down at the stop sign and commented on my being outside. What an interesting story he had! He grew up in Maine, moved to Florida, and then relocated here in North Carolina. He repairs heating and air conditioning systems. He said it was 84 F (28.9 C) on a winter’s day in Florida, and that was just too hot. If he had been in Maine, he would have shoveled snow to get to the heating units. NC is perfect for him.

The longer I walked, the warmer I got. With half a mile to go, I took off a headband, put the knit hat back on, removed gloves, and unzipped the coat. It was wonderful to shed the layers when I stepped in the front door. I checked the clips from the cam on the porch and extracted one frame of my going out and one when I came home. I waved at the camera in the first and fanned my face with the hat in the second.

While cooling off, I chatted with grandson Nathaniel via text. He is spending his winter break with his dad upstate New York. I was pleased he sent me photos of peanut butter pinwheels and rum-raisin cinnamon bread he had made.

I asked if he was enjoying the snow in NY, and he sent me a photo of the snow angel he made the day before. That tickled me, because I love angels. This one had to be the tallest one I’ve ever seen, because Nathaniel is 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 m) tall.

Whether you are in the northern hemisphere or down under, I hope you are enjoying appropriate weather.

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

54 thoughts on “Walking to the Creek”

  2. Sweet – the food *and* the angel! Heh, but Anne: -7 C? Today in Montreal it’s -14 C! Mind you, we’re a lot more used to it! For you it’s way more rare, huh? Bundle up!

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  5. Looks like a great walk. My dogs would be like Sadie and say, go ahead without me. Even though they love walks, they don’t like getting cold or wet. Nathaniel’s baking looks great and his snow angel is perfect!

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      1. It´s sunny and mild, about 15 C (59 F) although there is a sharp wind today. It doesn´t rain often but when it does, those girls aren´t going anywhere.

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  6. I hardly recognized you without your smile! That rum raisin bread looks scrumptious! The think I remember about making snow angels is trying to get back up without ruining the snow angel. I hardly saw any signs of Nathaniel getting back up to his feet after his creation. Maybe he can just take a giant step out without leaving a trace!

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  7. Glad you had a nice walk. It was 19 degrees here in New England today, too, but is now dropping for the night. We had our first big storm yesterday so everything is covered in white. Happy to see Nathaniel is still making amazing treats!

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  10. Glad you had a nice walk. Beautiful wearing you warms clothes. Beautiful pic. I love those bread. Nathaniel good baking it’s. There were very cold.,🌷🙏

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  11. My coat arrived back from wool contest in time for me to test it in the -12 weather we had earlier this week….perfect, that hood kept the rest of me pretty warm. Shedding layers when it’s white outside can seem so surreal some days!

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  12. Anne, I so enjoyed your post and what you recalled as you walked. Snow angels. Frozen puddles. And simply the act of walking which is beneficial in many ways. For me, it triggers poetry and memories for a blog entry. So happy for you that you had to shed layers. I could eat one of Nathaniel’s creation. Be well. oxox

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  13. I have often set off on a hike, only to have to shed layers as I heated up! Walking is just wonderful in so many ways. Yesterday I followed our little tribe of deer to the slough where I walked around with the camera and watched them nibble and forage for winter eats. I was amazed at how many robins are around right now – which is usually a sign that spring is just around the corner. We’ve had some bitter cold days, but seeing the birds and bits of green springing up in the woodlands gives me hope that warmer days are just around the corner!

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    1. I used to hang my windbreaker on a neighbor’s mailbox if I got too warm. They moved, and now I have permission to use a different neighbor’s fence. That’s great that you are still so close to the deer.

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  17. This was a fun post. That’s really cold, 19F. I was complaining as it was 12F yesterday. We have a few days’ reprieve after all the freezing rain/ice, then three bitterly cold days, then back to even colder weather this weekend. Nathaniel’s treats look delicious and that is a perfect snow angel!

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      1. We had that bitter cold last weekend (Friday and Saturday), then a day of warmth, then Monday and Tuesday were very cold. We have that same pattern coming in this weekend. I have a draft in my kitchen that has come suddenly and I cannot figure out where it is from. It was 37 today, so not cold at all but a cold draft is blowing on my legs … it’s a mystery but tomorrow I am planning to sit with an afghan over my knees and legs. I couldn’t walk this morning due to black ice.

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          1. Same here – black ice is a real threat to walking. It was okay today, nice and dry, but yesterday … not going to take a chance. We’ve had black ice at the Park in mid-October and it’s mostly on the side where the Creek is. I heard the mountains in NC would be part of this snowstorm and they specifically said 14 inches, maybe more. Good luck with that snowstorm. We’re going down to zero tonight. Sigh.

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            1. I try not to get excited about weather forecasts, because we rarely get the snow we’ve been promised. There was mention of ice, and that is highly likely on our winding roads at higher elevations. The roads don’t affect it, but altitude does. We’re only at 2,600 feet and won’t get the extremes.

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