Tag: winter

#AtoZChallenge | D is for a Determined Dog Chasing Snowballs

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My dog was built for water. He’s a swimmer. During a few tentative minutes his first time in the lake where his head spent more time under water than above it,  I thought we may have gotten the only Labrador Retriever on the planet who was about to drown. Fortunately, he caught on and has never looked back.  He loves living on the lake and swims any chance he gets.

But, what does he do in the winter with the lake frozen over and temps hovering around zero? Fortunately, he’s also built for the cold so the temps don’t bother him but getting exercise in during the more limiting winter months can be more challenging.

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#AtoZChallenge | C is for a Coastal Hike at Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park

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Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park is a gorgeous coastal hike. It’s my favorite type of trail. After hiking through the forest, you take a short passage down to the ocean’s edge and emerge onto stunning coastal views.

We did this hike as winter was winding down last year, so the snow was manageable as we hiked through the forest, although we did still need our crampons. When the weather starts warming up,  you need to be extra cautious about ice. Since there is a lot of melting and refreezing happening at this time of year, there can be some hidden slick spots.

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#AtoZChallenge | A is for Arctic Blast and Frozen Pipes

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Arctic Blast has such a great ring to it. It sounds like something refreshing and fun that might even taste a little minty in your mouth but it’s not quite as nice as it sounds.

What is an Arctic Blast? “The word arctic describes frigid and inhospitable weather.”1  We do get extreme low temperatures in Maine from time to time during the winter and our cold snaps can be intense. We started the new year with a record setting January 1st when temperatures dropped to 17 degrees below zero beating the previous record of minus 12 which was set in 1957.2

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#AtoZChallenge | What’s my theme? I’m going with Winter in Maine.

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My theme reveal should have be titled “No Clue” as until yesterday I wasn’t even sure I was going to participate in this year’s blogging challenge.  I love the creativity of the A to Z Challenge and it always pushes me to expand and grow my blog but having recently changed jobs in real life has left things a bit hectic for me.

Once I thought about it a little more, I realized that was a poor excuse. Who doesn’t have a lot to juggle? Life is hectic for everyone and that’s not a good reason to skip the challenge. So, I’m diving in. A little less prepared than in years previous, but ready to jump in to make it as fun and creative as possible.

I began to brainstorm theme ideas as I sat in my kitchen table looking out my window at the snow covered lake, and two thoughts popped into my head. The first is that we’ve had a long winter full of extremes most recently marked by two back to back nor’easters.  The second is that winter in Maine is especially peaceful and beautiful. I had my theme: Winter in Maine.

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Hiking Maine | An amazing winter hike on the Cathance River Trail in Topsham.

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Winter hikes are my favorite. Each season certainly has its charms, but I’ll take winter hiking any time. There are no bugs and the landscape is magical when coated in white.

We headed to the Cathance River Trail in Topsham this past Saturday. After arriving at the trail, we sat at a bench near the entrance to put on our Stabilicers in anticipation of icy trails. As I was adjusting my crampon straps, a father walked out of the trail entrance carrying his young son who had taken a minor sledding spill on the slick trails. The boy’s nose was bleeding, but he had a big smile.  After glancing at us, the father commented “You came prepared.” It was going to be an icy one.

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