Snow and Waxwings Galore

Next year, when Sam is a bit older and steadier on her feet, we'll get out and play in the snow during a big snowstorm like yesterday's, which dumped approx. 12" of beautiful, white fluffy snow on us. But, this year, as she toddles and waddles and lurches unsteadily through the house, concentrating hard on walking, a snow day is better spent inside. So, yesterday, as the snow piled up and the winds whipped outside, the two of us played and walked and read, and not to mention, distracted poor Ryan while he worked :-)

Ryan was nice enough to do all the shoveling and car moving, so this morning when I dropped Sam off at daycare was the first time I'd been outside to revel in all the snow. Wow! It sure looks like winter now! Although I was tempted to load up my skis and head to the Commons to tromp through the woods, or put on my snowshoes and go wallow in the snow across the street, I really didn't have the time before work. I figured I could get in 30 minutes of running. So, I settled for running 3 loops of the high school road to get in 4.5 miles. It ended up taking me 37:25, but that's OK, I don't need much time to primp in front of the bathroom mirror anyway :-)

The run wasn't as much fun as skiing or snowshoeing, but I really needed to get the mileage in anyway, so you do what you have to do. I know that this winter, I'll be running more than skiing, simply because the logistics of running are so much simpler and because I definitely need to get in the miles going into the Gator Trail 50k if the race is going to be a pleasant experience :-) So as I ran the loop, I envisioned it a shorter, colder version of the Gator Trail course. The footing went from small sections of straight pavement to slippery packed snow to slush to churned up snow and slush and back again. Substitute packed dirt for the pavement, sand for the churned up snow and slush, and roots for the slippery packed snow, and it's probably a pretty good simulation.

The highlight of the run, which frankly wasn't all that exciting, was noting a flock of 30+ Cedar Waxwings by the front of the high school. The first time I ran by, I heard their chirps, but couldn't pinpoint where the calls were coming from. The second time around, I made a point to really look around, instead of trying to keep my head down in the wind, and I realized there was a good grouping of the birds high up in the branches of a big birch tree on the pond side of the front parking lot. I stopped to watch them for a minute. They are beautiful birds and looking up, the tree seemed alive with color as they flitted about - the gorgeous buttery yellow of their bellies and the warm reddish brown tones of their wings/head a wonderful contrast to the blue skies. and their melodious chirps and calls. On the third loop, I realized they were flying to and from the birch tree to two fruit trees planted in the school's courtyard. Neat!