Full Moon

Life is good. Just got back from a solo skate on Little Gun Lake with the full moon and my shadow as my constant companions. What a living this is! Pure, solitary, so close to the earth, the stars brighter and clearer than I have ever seen them. Amazing to be out there on the lake, the creaks and groans rippling in the deep slabs of ice as the frozen blanket shifted under my weight. It’s almost an alien sound, like someone holding a large piece of aluminum sheeting by the edge and flapping it up and down; metallic sounding from deep below the layers of ice, the sound shooting out across the lake and back to where I stand alone under the moon. I skated across the WHOLE LAKE, back and forth, did some twirling. For someone who had only skated a handful of times before moving here I seem to be progressing quickly, but I have also been getting in lots of practice. If it’s not going to get busy snowing up here, at least it’s cold enough to keep the ice in good shape.

This past weekend I was outside for hours upon hours EVERY DAY! On Friday Sanford and I went on a huge hike up to Sucker Lake, followed some fresh moose tracks for a while, peered in the windows of abandoned buildings. The usual Bridge River Valley outing. On Saturday I made a new ski-touring friend. Awesome guy. I hadn’t met him before but heard he was a trustworthy gentleman so I called him up Friday night to suggest we head out skiing the next day and he was all for it! We rode up to Sunshine (“the local ski hill”) on his sled, with me standing with both feet along the left side of the sled, my left hand on the handlebar, he on the right, his right hand on the right handlebar – tandem steering and a place to hold onto in the middle with our other hands. It was so much FUN! We chatted all day about the craziness of the world, documentaries, 2012, all the nerdy stuff I thrive on. Then on Sunday it was out for another afternoon of skating on the lake. YES!

Sanford and I on our walk.

I have been so busy with work, my little outdoor adventures, wood chopping (the shed needed to be re-stocked with burnable piles) and reading that I have not had much time to spend writing posts. I do however have a pile of pictures to share. A few for tonight, and perhaps some tomorrow, time permitting. The weather has been beautiful, and with the great outdoors literally beckoning from my doorstep I just can’t seem to stay inside long enough to type something up!