Just Dress For It!

 Yeah, we got a little chilled, standing still watching the frazil ice push down the Hudson up north of Warrensburg today.  It might have been 5 above zero, after all, which is pretty cold.  But we were dressed for it, in longjohns and snowpants and parkas and facemasks and mittens and scarves and hoods, and Ruth even had some handwarmer packs she shared with us.  But most of all, we were happy to be there, Ruth and Jean and Evelyn and I, glad to have such good company for an afternoon's adventure outdoors.

Ruth and Jean and I had come north to join Evelyn, who would serve as our guide, first to show us the phenomenon of ice forming and damming the river's flow, then to lead us along old logging roads until we came to state forest preserve that had not been logged for over a hundred years.  That's enough time for some of the pines to grow pretty tall and very big around.

The snow in the woods was firm enough we could walk right on top without snowshoes, keeping up a pace fast enough that we soon grew toasty warm under all our winter garb.   It was almost too cold to take photos, though, with the camera's mechanism jamming at times and the battery stuttering some. Not to mention, my fingers nearly froze when I tried to take a picture.  I was glad, though, that  I captured this otter trail, which led along a frozen creek until it disappeared into some open water.

Brrrr!  Just the THOUGHT of diving into that icy water!  But then I remember that otters are perfectly dressed for that, with one of the densest furs imaginable, with an undercoat that never lets water touch their skin.