Skiing, Again

I know I write about skiing all the time, but there is something so exhilarating about it, I just can't help it.

Thunder and I went skiing at Berlin Pond today. Seth has been crazy busy preparing for a training session he has to give in a few weeks, and we haven't been out in a while. The stress of getting wedding invitations out in a timely manner, the lengthening "to-do" list and general craziness at work had finally poisoned my brain and towards the end of last week nothing I tried could shake the feeling that my head was about to explode.

Thunder seemed to be going equally crazy. He'd taken to staring out the window and heaving wistful sighs that even Amy from Little Women couldn't compete with!

I knew we needed to get back to the woods, even if it meant going somewhere simple and leaving Seth at home to work on his presentations.

My soul must have been in desperate need of refreshing - the woods were uncommonly beautiful. The Eastern Hemlock needles were such an intense color of green sticking out beneath piles of fresh snow, and the unusually massive Paper Birches up there always make me wonder. I was in such high spirits I actually considered removing a perfectly peeling piece of bark and writing someone a letter on it! (I can't imagine how anyone came up with the name Paper Birch). The golden winter leaves of the American Beech tree have always reminded me of the golden leaves of Lothlorien, and lend extra color to the wintry scene.

It was very refreshing, indeed.

When all three of us are out in the woods together, Thunder pays very little attention to us and is usually bounding about in search of a rabbit or squirrel (or a deer, moose or bear). But I've noticed that when it is just him and me he stays much closer to me. He still goes bounding up the trail, but he comes bounding back much more frequently and even walks alongside me for long stretches. It's as though he knows Seth is not there to protect me and so he takes it on himself. He was actually walking next to or directly behind me for most of our adventure today! I'm not sure what I need protection from (rabbits and squirrels, perhaps?) but he does a fine job of it.

When we got home poor Seth was still working away. Next weekend is the Sandblast Rally in South Carolina, so hopefully he'll be able to relieve his mind soon too.