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I have really been enjoying this winter.  I just don't mind the cold and really enjoy getting all the snow we've been getting.  It makes the woods a lot prettier and sure keeps me busy maintaining the wood stove.  I heat the entire house with the wood stove in the basement and, so far, have burned through five cords of wood. Yes, I am enjoying the winter weather.  Aside from the hunting, I also tend to tinker with my rifles, and read a lot more during the winter months.  Another part of the winter months that I enjoy is keeping the birds fed.  I've bought three or four 35lb sacks of  bird feed this winter, and enjoy watching the birds eat it.  Especially the Juncos which migrate down from Canada for the winter months.  Hell, I eat better too.  Debbie has made some really fantastic meals this season.  Her lasagna, chicken pot pies and corned beef are amazing.  I drink a the more heavily hopped and darker beers in the wintertime as well; your IPAs, porters and stouts.

A friend and I drove up to my folks place and childhood home in Sherrill, NY this past Thursday evening, after work.  They live about an hour and a half from the Adirondack Mountains.  Thanks to my father, as a kid, I spent a lot of time in those mountains.  It was there that he taught me the woodsman skills I have today:  How to hunt & fish, use a compass, build a fire, which berries to eat, and which ones to avoid etc.  While visiting with my folks these past three days, I made time to introduce her to a close friend but also scoot up into the great white north.  We stopped often, snapping photos along the way.  My friend had never been to the Adirondacks, so I showed her some of the nifty areas, the areas I was familiar with.  We stopped in Old Forge and kicked around the old hardware store, checked out the Adirondack Scenic Railroad and then pushed further north into Inlet, NY.  We grabbed a pizza and had a beer at the Screamin' Eagle (which was was pleasantly surprised to see has increased their tap selection from the three or four I had known, to over forty!). Warm and toasty inside, we watched as snowmobilers ripped up and down the street outside.  I wished we could have stayed longer.  It was a great trip and the snowy weather made for a classic Adirondack Christmas experience.

It's been very cold here in Japan. Last night I went shopping for some affordable wool socks to keep my feet warm while I am in Kyoto on Saturday. I'm looking forward to exploring this area which I'm told is rich in history and has an abundance of beautiful wooden temples. On my way back to the hotel, I took this photo of a small sculpture lit by streetlight which helped capture the wispy snow.

Chris and I took a Metro North train about an hour and a half north of the city to hike at Breakneck Ridge. As I write this, I am thoroughly exhausted, so I will keep it brief. We were both surprised that there was snow on the ground. Not only was the ground covered, but there was a solid 10 inch foundation, glazed over in ice with 4 inches of fresh powder on top of it. A few hundred yards into the hike I stopped and put on my microspikes. The spikes dug in nicely and I had no problems getting footings. The views were pretty amazing from the 1100' purchases on Breakneck Ridge, Sunset Point and Sugarloaf Mountain. You could see the Hudson Valley, the Hudson River and the abandoned ruins on Bannerman Island. We hiked from 9:00am till 3:30pm, saw nobody else out enjoying the woods and had a great time. There were some comical moments. Most noteworthy was Chris' bold attempt to boulder a snow-covered rock pile in his climbing shoes. I had to fire up my stove to warm him up afterwords. (I have some ridiculous video footage that I'll have to post up sometime in the future). In the end, I would estimate we only hiked about 6 miles, but it was certainly slow-going for a lot of it. I'm really whooped! For now its off to bed.

I will be in Baltimore for the rest of the week. My old stomping grounds. I'm looking forward to seeing Charm City once again and have plans to meet a friend for dinner tomorrow night. I'll see if I can't get out and snap a few Bmore snapshots while I'm there.

When I finished I set off for Fort Tryon Park in hopes of getting to the untouched snow on the east side of the park before anyone else. I was successful. I ran into a few people out in the woods and we talked a bit about how great it was to have the snow. I love living in Manhattan and being able to bury myself in the woods of the parks that we have. Aside from the noise of snow plows scraping along the roads below, it was quite peaceful sitting in the snow high on the steep east side of the Cloisters. Chickadees and cardinals chirped and worked the branches right before my eyes. I sat, connected to and entranced by natures cold condition. Today was awesome. Below are a bunch of random snapshots from my walk through the neighborhood and woods this afternoon.

Below: MTA workers cleared the steps to the A train this morning. Plenty of people were riding the subway.

Below: Fort Tryon was a winter wonderland this morning. I opted to stick to the eastern side of the park, walking through the woods that overlook upper Manhattan (Inwood) down below.

Below: I bumped into one person cross country skiing. We briefly exchanged xc skiing stories and had a few laughs before parting ways.

Below: I thought it was really neat to watch the snow blowing from the roof tops. A southerly wind current was evident as it swept through the valley below.

Below: I was thankful for my ankle gaiters that I picked up at EMS earlier this fall. They worked great keeping snow out of my shoes and keeping my laces free of ice.

Below: A couple of Cardinals worked the bushes for seeds while I sat and watched.

Below: The Hudson River looked bitterly cold today. The wind in the park where I took this picture was quite intense and stung my face. I admired the George Washington Bridge for a few minutes before pushing on to the sledding hill and headed back to phattire headquarters.