winter wonderland

Sleigh bells ring...

are you listening.

In the lane...

snow is glistening.

A beautiful sight...

we're happy tonight...

You know the next line...

 That's it...

Walking in a

Winter Wonderland.

A winter blast was heading our way

 first snow

then the bitter cold...

but when I came home 

from the grocery store

I couldn't believe how beautiful

the air felt

calm

cold, not too cold

the quiet that only snow

can bring

I called my sister Sue

who is always game for my craziness

(and mine hers!)

and asked her if she wanted to go

for a walk.

The rest is happy history.

We quickly decided on

Wildwood Metropark

ignoring the impending

weather warnings...

Started walking

and decided on the 

Upland Woods Trail

(so unlike us to be so decisive)

We marveled at the

scenery

Sue never complained when

I had to stop for 

one

more 

picture

she encouraged me to 

stop and smell the snow!

We were all smiles...

(sorry, I know I told you

I wouldn't post this

but you look so darn cute!)

Back to the walk...

a brief break for

wardrobe

adjustment...

At about this point we were

trying to figure out

why this walk seemed

longer than we remembered...

probably the snow

creating greater resistance...

like, well...

water!

This was also about

the time I took this picture...

We kept noticing this 

snow bug

and I finally got the pic I was after

so I could ask all of you...

to identify it for me!

More beautiful landscape

We did encounter others

who felt that same

draw 

to explore and enjoy

The Great Outdoors

before the cold prevented it.

Finally

 finding our way back to

the trail head.

Where we discovered

what we should have discovered before the outing

that we had walked

2.something-something

miles

In no hurry

we

lingered...

enjoying the decorations

the horse stall

bathrooms

a bottled water

before checking in on

The Window on Wildlife

Before we decided to head home...

still no rush...

let's stop for a coffee...

a delicious Gingerbread concoction

(can't remember its name...

help me out Sue)

that was drizzled with molasses...

really hit the spot.

Dreamed about our next outing

donning cross-country skis

after stopping a skier and finding out rentals

are only 15 dollars for the day!

Decided to enjoy an oatmeal cookie

and blueberry scone.

Why, oh why

did Starbucks decide we needed to know

the calorie content?!

As we headed out

we did notice the snow was

getting heavier...

One more stop...

Michael's

for yarn and needles...

we wanted to be prepared for the

upcoming shut-in weather.

The outside conditions

had definitely

progressed...

Sue had to drive 20 MPH

all the way home where we made another discovery...

a Level 3 advisory was in effect

YIKES!

Oh well...

we might not be able to drive

but that can't stop

us from having

fun

James started something

I had to help him finish...

but I will save that

for another day!

Today,

I have some knitting to do.

Thanks, Sue!

xo