bird tree

Whew! The holidays are finally over...we created our last event celebrating ChriSolstiNew Year yesterday afternoon with a snowshoe into the woods.

It used to be the tradition in this household when going out to find a Christmas tree, to decorate a tree for the birds. We weren't prepared to do it on that day and decided to pick another day to so instead. That day turned out to be Sunday.

Rob purchased a suet brick, a nut block and a seed bell and I popped some popcorn to string. Sunday morning we spent time stringing said popcorn with only some mild cursing from me while I got the hang of it. (I hear Gretchen used to be a pro at this particular task...)

Once we felt like we'd strung enough, we packed up the truck with our shoes, the feeding supplies and the tree. Tree? I forgot to mention that the other reason for heading out into the woods was to return our tree to it's home in the forest. (It's the one standing next to Tiika in the picture above.)

You can't really see the goodies from a distance, so here's a closer shot. Yum for the birdies! Hopefully the squirrels won't be able to get to them.

The air was pretty frigid so we didn't stay out too much longer. All in all, it was a good trek. (Teal and Gretchen were missed though...family traditions may change over time but heartfelt memories never do.) We'll head back out at some point to retrieve whatever skeletons might be left behind. We certainly don't want to be litterbugs!

snowshoeing = fun!!

Oh. my. goodness. I had no idea that snowshoeing would be so much fun! After the opening of presents, feasting and talking with family, we headed out the door to enjoy the warm spell - about 25 degrees and gently snowing - trying out our gift to each other, MSR Denali Snowshoes (purchased on a heck of a sale about a month ago). Rob snapped several pictures to commemorate the event.

Tiika was getting a little bit antsy as we prepared to don the shoes. She hasn't been out much lately due to the extreme cold so was rarin' to go, more than usual if you can imagine that!

I was a little bit more anxious but mostly attempting to not have any expectations. Cross country skiing has turned out to not be my cup of tea so I was looking for something that would help me get outside in the winter.















Ballet anyone? I was amazed at how short the learning curve was for these things. After I got my boots buckled in, it was a breeze to just GO. Love, love, love it!


And thus we began our trek through the woods...







We went this way up the hill.
While skiers would have to take this less adventurous looking trail.













I haven't had so much pure fun out of doors in winter for a long time. By the time we made it back to the truck an hour and a half later, the only thing that hurt was my face from smiling. I can't wait to get back out there. We're making a plan for a trek down south on Saturday, weather willing.