Yesterday and the day before were perfect days to be outdoors – if you were dressed for 20-degrees (F). The winter woods were silent; with one exception, not a creature was stirring:
The exception was Yours Truly, the photographer who looks like a bloody mummy when he’s out and about in sub-freezing weather. We have an image of that strange sight thanks to neighbor Jon Wilson. Jon saw the creature taking a shortcut across part of his WoodenBoat School campus yesterday, stopped his car, got out, and insisted on memorializing the weirdness with his cell phone camera:
Many people have asked about that outfit, which has a number of variations depending on the weather. Yesterday, starting at the top, it was a knit cap, over an insulated head-ear band, over a balaclava hood. On the torso, there’s a cotton (breathable) turtleneck, under a flannel shirt, under a fleece jacket, under a rubberized (waterproof) shell jacket that’s bright enough for hunters to see. On the hands, there are photographers’ winter gloves (thumb and index finger tops fold back) and one ski pole for crossing ice patches in the woods and on the shore. On the legs are an old pair of jeans (long johns not used until the temperature goes below 10 degrees). Finally, on the feet, there are insulated boots high enough to wade through small streams and around difficult shoreline obstacles in Great Cove.
Back to the important stuff. Woods’ streams are icing up, despite the fast-moving water:
Some marsh and field ponds have relatively clear ice; others have the frosty variety. However, they’re all ready for ice skates and casting Valentine’s shadows.
On Great Cove’s shore, sea ice is starting to form, but it’s still in its pancake ice form:
(Brooklin, Maine)