treasures in the snow

i went cross-country skiing today. out our front door: one of the advantages of wisconsin in the winter is that there is usually snow. especially this winter: 90+ inches of it! so, i strap on my skiis and start hurrying around the edge of the farm fields, and enjoying the "warm" temperatures, ie. greater than 20 degrees F. the last snowstorm we had started with an inch of rain, and then some freezing rain, followed by 8 inches of snow. the result was the glazing of every single twig, dead queen anne's lace, dried leaf... everything. in sheltered places, it's still like that days later! it is truly lovely, like strands of blown glass along the delicate edges of plant skeletons. the light shines through it and it might be a forest of glass, or a blown glass sculpture of flowers and weeds.
i hurried on, squinting sunlight and slipping out of the tracks laid down by previous skiers, following the contour of the forest and field. now looking at the snow beneath me, animal tracks every which way in some places, unbroken sparkle-space in others. little friends searching for food in the foot-and-a-half deep snow. life isn't easy in the winter for the critters. mice, tiny prints show the leap inches at a time, trailing their little tail behind them. deer, feet plunging through the snow because of their weight, all balanced on four little points of hooves. coyote, cleverly walking through the skiers tracks, where they won't break through the snow as much. and turkey. messy, seems like a fuzzy trail cut through the snow, 3 inches wide. sometimes you see the edge of a talon. i scared a flock of them up, and the sprung into the air, wings thumping out their retreat. and then, the most beautiful track of them all. a turkey had landed, trailing tail feathers in the snow, and then flapped it's wings powerfully one last time to keep its balance, leaving an imprint of the tip of each feather as it carved out the snow. then it ran into the woods. so lovely! the symmetry of the wings, the delicate shape of each feather-track, the trailing tail feathers when it first touched the ground. wow!!
i skiied on, hurrying again, but having to pause to gaze at the tracks again on the way back. what wonderful gifts of winter, to remember when i am far away. :)