Fresh Tracks in New Snow
How a fresh layer of snow can feel like turning the page in a new chapter
As winter begins to settle in and the season of fall subsides, the days of snow to warm late fall weather dance between one another like siblings on a snow day that I have recently become more attuned to as another intense snowstorm came through this week.
Despite the slower drives to town and school that require a little more buffer so we aren’t late everywhere we need to go, the new snow is welcomed. Waking in a heavy layer of fresh snow comes with complicated feelings. First, it is utter beauty, and then the challenge it presents comes soon after. The questions arise about getting out, and digging the nearly 24-inch drifts away from the doors before or after a cup of coffee begins to sink in, but even with it all I still find the wonder of it all far higher than the challenges it presents.
As the sun rises behind the whitened gray skies of winter, and the day becomes bright, the hills once covered in vegetation feel neatly tucked away and smoothed. The signs of all work of spring and summer have fallen deep beneath the weight of the blanket of snow. I see this freshly fallen snow just like when a painter decides to repaint a canvas. The previous painting still is there under the new layers. The story written is still present, but now it is ready to be taken to new places.
The thing is though, there is nothing to us snow lovers like fresh snow. The untouched layer just waiting for us to break through it and write a new story on the newest path it allows us. I sometimes ache more the untouched snow than I do the groomed types. The ability to see now path or any guide to where we must go next. Instead, it allows me to just trust my instincts, take the path I want, or even see the woods in a new way. The work is far harder every time, but what I find is that it also is a beautiful practice of intuition. I can move with the feeling without a question. It feels beautiful and precious to hear this part of myself because sometimes this can be silenced in life. When we see how everyone else is doing things, we forget we can choose a path all our own so when the forest floor no longer has a designated path even the one from the deer, we now are just trusting ourselves about where will go next.
This is the gift of setting fresh tracks in new snow. We now get to choose the way in which we will go next on our terms. It’s a beautiful and powerful thing to spend time in nature using our natural instincts in this way. Over time I have found it has given me a renewed trust in my gut of what needs to be done or what doesn’t. It has helped me become far more attuned to myself and to hear what I need. I never overthink these decisions and I feel this must be what the artist feels with a fresh canvas; a blank palette to paint nothing other than what they desire to see in the world. To set a new way of traversing this world despite the challenge, and it still a being a beautiful way to discover something we may otherwise have missed.
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From The Margins This Week
A few little bits from my notebook over the week and beyond. Little bits of essays and random thoughts that seep into the margins over the weeks.
12/11/24
And then he asked me, “What plant would you be if you could be any?” I looked around and saw the Eastern White Pine. I said, “The white pine. She is strong, can withstand any storm, but soft enough to move with the wind and comfort all those who come to her.”
12/13/24
I followed the coyotes’ tracks to learn their ways. To mimic their movement. To understand their hollows in the winter that sound like an ache for sustenance. Instead, I learned it was for finding their community and now I understand them and winter in a new way.
1/28/24
The snow fell softly and unexpectedly in front of the low sunlight. The sort of snow that you cannot hear or isn’t predictable. It brought magic to the moment there in that quiet wooded clearing. It felt like home to see the snow drift down as if time wasn’t real and we could suspend ourselves in it just like the flakes.
11/24/24
The shadows have much to teach us.
On my mind this week
September is a new vibe, so here are some things I am enjoying and thinking about right now.
Christmas at Long Pond:
I read this book often as a child and found it on the bookshelf at my parent’s home last year. I read it to the kids the other night, and I loved the way it reminded me of my childhood memories of winter. I have been thinking often about what makes a magical holiday for our kids and what really doesn’t. This book about a small memory from a child felt grounding to me as a parent.Hitting the Slopes:
I am ready. I spend the entire year working out to be strong for ski season. Every year I get better and stronger since having the kids. I feel like I finally can ski at the level I was pre-kids so I am hoping to only go up from here. This year I also have decided to learn to snowboard. I plan to take lessons and learn and eventually get a board so I have the option to do both. Turning 38 in January makes me realize it’s now or never on these sorts of skills. With all the fresh powder coming down I am dreaming of getting out there. We ski locally mostly at Crystal Mountain but this year we are hoping to go back to my old stomping grounds as a kid to Nubs Nob and are even planning a weekend trip over Spring Break to Boyne Mountain. Hoping we still have good skiing weather.Favorite Gloves/Mittens:
I realized if there is something I get into buying it is Winter Gear and to only give you one or two favorites. Years ago I got this glove/mitten combo and I am still using them all the time. You can pull your gloved hand out of the mittens and they make it easy to put hand warmers into as well on really windy and cold days. I cannot recommend these guys more! Seriously they are the best mittens I have ever owned. My current pair is nearly 7 years old. This is why buying good gear is key. I will keep sharing my favorite items this winter, only because to enjoy this season you must have the best gear.Letting Kids Handle Christmas Decor:
I honestly slip away from social media because I always feel the perfect squares of moments and serenely perfect homes give me anxiety. It is not something I like seeing and honestly, we all know that’s never the full picture there. So instead, I have leaned into letting the kids have more creative control in our home the last few years. Currently, our advent calendar is surrounded by handmade trees of construction paper and our tree has ornaments in all the worst places. The stockings are a weird mix of things, and I just love it. I say let go of control friends and let the kids have a blast.Casual Crafting:
In winter it is so nice to just have some fun little craft projects. I usually do my sewing projects this time of year as well. A stack of needing-to-repair clothes finds its way to my weekend list of projects, but I also love to make other things too just for fun. Lately, I have been redoing the kids’ rooms and in the process, we have been making some little crafts out of what we already have for decor. I love these wall hangings and even some mobile ideas for their rooms that they can help make!Basement Spaces:
We are finally finishing the basement this next year and I am thinking about what we want this space to be along with color. We have always left just open and a little free flow and where all the furniture the kids can just be kids on goes. Though the furniture part may not change right away, we do plan to finish with colors and more for the first time! I have held off making any decisions like this in our house, thus why we have so much white, but we are beginning to plan to add more color and it is daunting. I do love this combo of colors in the family room of this home design for our family/TV space we will be creating.
I will be sharing the Seasonal Winter Guide coming up. I have some updates I am making to it from the season before. So I hope you enjoy them and find them enlightening and helpful for this season ahead. The guides are for paid subscribers only. If you would like access you can become a paid subscriber. This is one of the benefits of committing to a paid subscription. Use the button below to get a discount for the years ahead of seasonal content.