Deep winter woods

Past the pond snowshoeing up the steep incline in deep snow a step at a time making a path for Jane close behind we are on a deer trail we blazed this summer, following their tracks up the cliff, now breathless, it is a wild otherworldly experience to come to this spot where five, six, seven, maybe a dozen deer recently made their beds, lying still among their own familiar scents and frosted breath until, alert, they scatter into the hemlocks, leaving behind these egg shaped nests. 

zphx, 20110213