Birds and Cross-Country Skiing

We awoke this morning to fresh and falling snow. It was really quite pretty. I know that I have probably too frequently written here about our bird feeder and the sites we enjoy there, but I can't resist. Of all the things we enjoy here at the lake, this is one of my very favorite things all year round. Maybe it was the snow or the fact that I had recently refilled the feeder, but we seemed to have a Blue Jay convention going on this morning. There were dozens of them below the feeder, in the trees, and all over the forest floor. Squirrels, Chickadees, and Hairy Woodpeckers have also been around. I took the following shots through our window, the first through the railing of our deck. Click on some of the pictures to get a larger image and to better enjoy the colors of these wonderful creatures.

This afternoon, we decided to break out the cross-country skis to see if we could remember anything about this sport. We had thoroughly enjoyed skiing two years ago, and you may remember that we were here in January last year, expecting to ski, when we learned that we had a water break at our home back in Iowa. That put an end to any time we might have spent up here last winter.

There are lots of groomed trails in the area, about which you can read more here. We decided to drive to the closest one, which is the Mukwonago Trail. If you click here, you can see a map of this trail. We did the shortest loop, and I have to admit that I skied most of it, fell a couple of times on downhills, and walked the very last part due to being a bit winded. They had the trail nicely groomed for both skate skiing and classical cross-country, but I am both out of practice and not in the best shape. Still, it was fun, and I'll definitely go out again. I must admit that I like skiing on our lake, which is nice and flat, so I might work on my technique that way for a bit before I try hills again. Anyway, here is what we look like when we are upright. Right now, we are relaxing and enjoying things of an alcoholic nature.