A Short Year End Wintry Walk Near Home.

A Short Year End Wintry Walk Near Home.

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Another year is coming to and end, and more often than not, it is either cold, snowy or both here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Today we had both, a two inch snow cover on the ground and a seasonably cold 32 degrees. hike-2

The clouds that blocked the sun most of the day were breaking up late in the afternoon and I decided to leave my office a bit early to enjoy the sunshine. hike-6

The sun is now slowly moving north but still is low in the southern sky. This low angle makes for some beautiful sunsets so I headed out to the mine reclamation area near my house  in hopes of seeing one. hike-5

When i left on my walk it was still partly cloudy but, when the sun shone through the clouds it illuminated the now bare trees, such as this willow. hike-4

I walked past some ponds which are now covered with a still thin layer of ice. No frogs, birds, or even squirrels were stirring today. So different from the Summer. hike-12

And no green to be seen either. Only the white newly fallen snow and the frozen remains of the summer vegetation, hike-7

including the dried berry clusters of the staghorn sumac hike-14

and the cattails. hike-16

I made it to the reclamation area, once an area of strip mines that was our  playground, but  now a good place to watch the sunset during the Winter months, before it heads to the north of the Ridge in early Spring. hike-18

Some clouds moving in from the west obscured the setting sun but it was still was, as they always are, a pretty sight. hike-21

After the sun went down, and I walked back home in he approaching darkness, I a peaceful, primeval feeling came over me. I enjoyed the cold and solitude and thought how people must have walked in the cold and dark before there electric lights and flashlights. hike-30

I thought how much more they must have enjoyed the stars and planets in the sky and a warm fire in their homes. I don’t have a fireplace in my house to enjoy but I did get a glimpse of brilliant Venus in a patch of clear sky overhead. hike-1

And walking in the cold and dark gave me a good feeling as I approached my home, and the warmth that awaited me inside. I am not a big fan of  Winter, I dislike the long dark nights more than the cold and snow. I prefer the greens of Summer when life is everywhere. But I will admit I do enjoy an evening walk on a cold Winter’s afternoon like today.  Here is a link to some more photographs from my hike this afternoon. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/photographs-page-2/nggallery/photographs-page-two-blog/Year-end-hike-sunset-December-30-2016hike-34

 

It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing upon something. ~Charles Dickenshike-32