Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, Thursday evening. 

Another week gone, at this rate spring will be here before you know it. Snow in the forecast though, hyped up big time when they first started talking about it. “Major storm could be several feet of snow”. Now that the day of the storm is almost upon us, snow amounts have been reduced to 4-6 inches. Not complaining, gone are the days when I lived where snow was welcomed, because with the snow came money. Money in the form of skiers, hikers, snow snowshoers, snowmobile riders and others who played in the snow. This meant there was snow to be removed, (and were paid to do so) camps and second homes to be brought up to temperature and water turned on and made playable for the timeframe that the players were to be in Rangeley.

Kinda miss those days. Now I only hope we get enough snow to replenish the water table and prepare us for a safe summer and hopefully a full pond in the spring. Now, snow is just something to relocate and try to remember what it was like when I was younger.

As we drive to Carol’s treatments, some days we drive by a school as the flashing yellow 15 MPH signs are out. There is a crossing guard (as we called them in my day) that looks a lot like a friend of mine, Timothy Straub, from Rangeley. Same energetic smile and outgoing personality just oozing out of his being. 

Although I only know one of them, they both seem to portray exactly what one would want to have helping our next generation cross the street. Salute to you both.

I have been trying to get my walks in as usual, it has become a habit. Can’t say for sure if it is a good or bad habit, but a habit nonetheless. The app says that today marked 798 days that I have walked at least 5000 steps. Most days I walk many more than that. I have no idea if I will go all the way and shoot for 2022 miles during the year 2022. I exceeded 2021 last year but starting out again it almost seems overwhelming. I don’t mind the walking, it is all the time it takes up out of the day. Six to seven miles takes about 3 hours to complete. Especially walking with cleats on my shoes and still sliding around at times. I tend to walk slower and hold my body slightly bent forward to help mitigate falling down. I have figured out that I can walk ok in this weather but my steps per unit of time is lower when I am afraid I am going to fall on my butt. This cold does make it hard to decide to go out there, but once out there I usually “enjoy” my walk.

Today I was treated to a sight I felt fortunate to be a part of. I saw something ahead, (remember I walk on a dirt road) a small animal had dropped something in the road and ran back in the direction it had come from. A quick glance in that direction and I saw for a brief instant an ermine climb up a big pine tree. It scurried off the tree and disappeared. I kept walking and watching, trying to see where it went as I dug out my phone/camera. There it was and I managed to get this picture. 

I failed to get a picture of the animal it wanted to retrieve out of the road. I’m pretty sure it was a flying squirrel. I watched the ermine come from beside the pine tree thinking I would be able to get a picture as it picked up it’s prey. No such luck. It shot across the road scooped up the meal and never slowed down as it ran up the snowbank and proudly scurried into the woods. 

Then when I was arriving back at the house I could hear the call of a pileated woodpecker. As I got closer to the house, there it was on the neighbor’s fence.

I would have missed them both had I not gone out on my walk and had stayed inside where it was warm.

So enjoy your weekend, if you get snow don’t overdo. This being said by the dude that shoveled all the way up to the mailbox after the last 2 inches we received. Just so the plow guy could come and sand the ice that was under the snow. It’s only about 700 feet. But as dad would say, “don’t do as I do, do as I say”. I’m saying stay safe, don’t overdo and enjoy the snow. We’re going get what we get whether we enjoy it or cuss at it. I’ll just grab my shovel and relocate it with a smile on my face (at least part of the time).