Tom and I returned to Ohio’s winter wonderland for three weeks in February.  We had to vacate our RV spot at Fort Frederica, which I explained in a previous post.  During the time we had to be gone, we came back to Ohio to spend some time with Mom and Dad.

The day we arrived back in Ohio it was sunny and 60.  Gorgeous.  The next day a cold front moved in and it has been below freezing and snowing regularly ever since.  The week before we headed back to Georgia, the temperature never got above 20.  I like to walk outside every morning, but I draw the line at single digit temperatures.

One Saturday night it started snowing and didn’t stop until Sunday around noon.  We got over four inches during that snowstorm, and the roads on Sunday morning were a mess.  Tom and I made it to church but there were times when it was hard to see the road.

I’m not a big fan of cold.  My arthritis hurts and our heating bill goes way up.  I don’t mind it so much if I can get out in it, but the snow makes it more challenging.  The plows keep the roads clear, but I can’t walk in the roads.  I need to walk along the side of the road to get across OH 3 to Char Mar Ridge, where I walk.  But the side of the road is heaps of frozen ice and snow that are treacherous walking.

Getting to the park is dangerous, but walking in the park is difficult as well.  The path around the park has a hill that turned into an ice slide with the most recent snows.  I can get up the hill by walking in the woods along either side but I need to avoid the path.  The township plows the bike trail, but they aren’t able to clear all the ice from it.  One morning when I walked, I deliberately slid along parts of the trail because it was easier to keep my footing.

But the snow does make it a winter wonderland.  The world is quieter when it is blanketed with a layer of snow.  I can see the tracks of deer, rabbits, squirrels, and cats.  Some mornings when I walk I am the first one to make human tracks on the paths.  The daily snowfall keeps the snow white and beautiful.

There is a reason Tom and I head south every winter.  When I retired, I tried to retire from snow.  This winter, however, we have spent a lot of time in the snow.  I appreciate its beauty – and I celebrate when it melts and goes away!