Today: Cross-country skiing

I remember the first time I tried to cross-country ski. We were living at our old house near here, and we decided to try out our brand new equipment on an old logging road in back of our house.

We carried our skis and poles through the woods to the old road, put on the skis, and the rest was disaster for me.

I couldn't stay upright on the darned things to save myself. Finally, as we headed home, I attempted to ski down a slight incline. I did an amazing acrobatic act before landing on the snow. I ripped off my skis, hurled them down the little hill, and said, "That's the last time I'll ever use those *%^$@#^%$ things. Then I picked up the skis and poles and marched home. Ken was probably killing himself laughing as he walked behind me.

I love cross-country skiing now and look forward to getting out several times each winter. Most of our adventures are in the woods behind our house, but we try to get up to Jackson, NH, at least once a winter to spend a day on their beautifully groomed trails.

Today was our first time out on the skis this year. The snowshoeing trail we made yesterday served us well, but it's a fairly mild day so the snow alternated between super-slick and super-sticky. I found myself on the ground, flailing like an overturned turtle, twice. There's nothing harder than trying to stand up with your skis attached to your boots and your legs heading in various directions.

It was a good excursion today though. We always keep an eye out for deer, because the woods are a busy roadmap of deer trails, but we've yet to spot one. We figure the deer are hiding behind trees, snickering at us.

The top photo shows a spot where at least three deer bedded down last night. Ken said this might be a spot where they'll "pen up" soon, if the snow gets much deeper. Once they pen up, they pretty much stay in that spot for quite awhile. Ken said years ago, when he was a boy in Bridgton, ME, he was snowshoeing in the woods and came upon a deer pen. There were 7-8 deer in the pen, and they simply watched him with interest as he skirted around their spot. I'd like to come upon a scene like that.

I hope we can get out skiing again tomorrow. The forecast calls for rain coming in on Monday, and I'm afraid the rain might ruin our good snow conditions. We'd better get as much fun out of the snow as we can, while we can.