Stillness

Over the weekend I got the chance to spend some time in the woods; the medium deep woods. (For those of you who don’t know the Northern Michigan area, there are woods everywhere, even within the city limits, so I categorize those as lightly wooded areas. Then there are the medium woods, which, may have some houses scattered throughout them, but are relatively solace. And finally, there are the deep woods, which are extremely blissful if you can find your way out before dark.)

Saturday I cross country skied in an area called “Colonial Point Memorial Forest and the Chaboiganing Nature Preserve.” Honestly I was pretty zenned out during my trek through the woods and didn’t take much notice of the old growth red oaks, which thrive in direct sunlight and the nutrient rich soil, thanks to the glacial activity back in the “Wisconsinan” period. I did take notice of the incredible sound that happens when heavy tuffs of snow fall from tree branches, landing in the powder below. This sound is like a car door slamming in the distance. This sound always catches me off guard. I stop my skating to look around for the invisible vehicle only to witness the remanence of the diving snow as a big puff of whiteness surrounded by the stillness of the wintery woods.

Highlights of this adventure includes; getting lost, getting found in time for my afternoon rendezvous, getting my friends truck medium stuck in a snow bank (as opposed to really stuck where you need a push), taking a really long piss in the woods standing up like a boy using my handy dandy pee tool, being within 20 feet of a red headed woodpecker, watching him plonking his beak into the tree bark, and, dreaming of being the next Marty Stouffer.

The Layers Show
Headband, Free, salvaged from the bottom of an old tee shirt
Brown striped hoodie, $16, Peebles P-town
Black silk turtle neck, $2.50, Goldmine
Blue Wool sweater, $2.50, Sal Arm
Black tights, $9.99, K-mart
Wool plaid skirt, $2.50, Goldmine
Awesome snow pants, $19, Targe Chicago
Hot pink cotton knee high socks, cut off from an old pare of tights
Ankle height Smartwool socks really warn out, $9, Moosejaw Chicago
X-Country ski boots & skis, borrowed, thanks mom!

Having pocket food when my blood sugar levels are crashing after 90 minutes of skiing and climbing that final hill, priceless.