We spent the perfect chilly morning at Higley Flow State Park. Conditions were just right for skiing, and snowshoers, snowmobilers, and ice fishermen thought the same as well!

After a stressful day, I found peace and tranquility in this simple yet beautiful landscape of the river. Afternoon walks with friends can mend any stressed psyche.

Out for a quick morning ski with the pup. The river was loud in the quiet of the morning, and Tigger had trouble containing his excitement. It may have been an early start for us, but not for some, several fresh white-tailed deer tracks already criss-crossed the field.

It was a very cloudy day with freezing drizzle. This is one of my favorite maple trees and it was heavy producer of sap last year. Every day is a beautiful day in the North Country.

. Mother nature is quite an artist with only water & temperature as the medium.

Great day for a quick (and brisk- only 9 degrees!) hike back to Hart's Falls on the Grasse river. The property is now part of the St. Lawrence land trust. I'm sure because of their acquisition, you'll see some property improvements in the near future. It's only about a quarter mile from the road, but worth the trip. For more info on it, please check out these links................................ http://www.stlawlandtrust.org/content/harts-falls ..........................................

Out for a ski on the last day of 2016 I came across a dead birch tree absolutely covered in birch polypore fungi. The fungi visible on the tree are just fruiting bodies of the larger organism -- at this point, what was left standing was probably as much fungal mycelia as it was dead wood!

Just a short snowshoe trip back to boy scout bay on Trout lake. The trail-head sign says 1 mile, but it was closer to 8/10th according to GPS. We started from the the Cedar Lake Public Forest Access Road/ north shore road, about 1/3rd mile off county rt 19 in Hermon. We had freezing rain for a few hours this morning, but by noon everything was done. Mid 20s and overcast, so not too bad for snowshoeing. It's an easy trail and leads to a picnic area on trout lake (complete with an outhouse).

Tonight I went for my first walk of the winter season. It was snowy and silent and a bit too long -- my ears were numb when I got back inside! Usually when I go for walks, I put in my headphones and tune out the world. But tonight, one song into my stroll, I unplugged and just listened. Listened to the frozen leaves and grass crunch under the still-fluffy snow, listened to the occasional exclamations of students returning to their rooms from a late night of studying, listened to my own breath -- and saw it, too.