Snow returns

Although the mountains still hold fantastic winter conditions, as I found last Thursday on Worcester Mountain, the immediate Hanover-Lyme area has little snow left. Our yard was still covered in an inch or two of old hard snow, but the neighboring woods were becoming largely bare. All that changed today, as a powerful nor’easter swept up the coast. We accumulated 8.5 inches of fresh white stuff, far less than what some saw down east – the coastal regions received a foot or two – but eight or nine inches is quite nice indeed. It was a bit warm here – topping the freezing point for the afternoon – so the snow is a bit wet. At higher elevation I hope to find deeper, lighter powder. Read on and check out the gallery of photos.

I walked up through the woods to the top of my hill and sat down on a stump. I sat quietly for about twenty minutes, listening to the wind in the trees and surveying the forest for movement. This morning I saw a group of six deer bounding across my lawn, and the tracks in the forest now showed me they had been busy all afternoon, criss-crossing the slope.

None came by while I waited, so I stood and headed down one of the nearby paths, following fresh tracks. Soon I spotted a pair of deer, silently leaping out of sight ahead. I followed, slowly, hoping I might catch another glimpse. I recorded a video while I walked, to give you an opportunity to enjoy the scenery of a walk in the snowy woods.

Though I saw many tracks, I did not find the deer. I headed downhill toward the road. Now that my camera was in my pocket, another deer appeared ahead, bounding down the trail. Clearly, it was time for me to let them be, and head home.

Here’s a gallery of photos from today’s snowstorm.