Snows all day, — first snow of any consequence, three or four inches in all.
At the double-chair December 26, 2017 |
H. D. Thoreau, Journal, December 26, 1857
Snows all day, — first snow of any consequence, three or four inches in all. See December 26, 1853 ("The first snow of any consequence thus far. It is about three inches deep.”) See also note to November 29, 1856 ("This is the first snow.”)
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The day after Christmas in the late afternoon we walk to the double-chair via the view, stopping there only briefly because of the strong northwest wind and cold.
Near the junction we hear a raven, turn and see it fly overhead. On the walk we also hear chickadees and downy or hairy woodpecker
Deep in winter woods
we turn to see the raven
soaring overhead.
I bushwhack up the mountain and come across an area that has been trampled down by deer. There are deer bed is all around and she is calling me from above with the same news. As we hike up there are dozens and dozens of deer beds —More than I’ve ever seen in one place.
I use their tracks to find the easiest way up.
When we get to the double-chair, clear the chairs of ice and sit -- there is the first quarter moon in a clear sky. It is 16°.
As we come down the mountain trail, cross the ice on middle pond and skid down over the cliff trail, I am thinking what a gift to have this land and these walks together all these years.
What a gift to have
this land our dogs and these walks--
these years together.
zphz 20171226
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