first walk in snow this year.

Well, the year is only eight days old. What I should have said was winter.

The plan today was to have another athletic adventure. Two in one week! I had planned to go to a chair balance class that I saw in the paper on Sunday.  I went to the website this morning to register and found out it was a series of classes and $53. Oops. Starting next week I'll be teaching Wednesdays.

Time for plan B. Especially since I planned to have my ample butt firmly planted in my chair this afternoon. It's Sheep to Shawl day at the farm show and I've been watching for years. I always say I'm going to go on a Wednesday and watch it, but I don't. I anticipate the experience would be like going to a baseball game. You see much more on television.

Basically, the teams come in with a sheep, shear it, card and spin the wool and make the shawl, all in about 2.5 hours.  Their areas are already set up in the arena and decorated with there themes. The loom already has the warp threaded and it is often dyed. The weft is woven at the show. What color the sheep determines the fiber they'll be using for the weft. They are judged and the first off gets extra points. Afterward, they auction them off. There is also a youth (mostly 4H) competition for high schoolers in the morning called Fleece to Shawl. They don't have to shear a sheep.

It had snowed a little overnight and I had to go to Vallo's bakery for bread. I like to plan my walks and do other errands at the same time. I like to think I'm saving time and energy, but probably not. I worked this morning so I wanted to be close to making it home for couch potato time. I chose Franco Farm on South Mountain.

The pond at the gazebo had a tin layer of ice and most of the fields and trails were snow-covered.

I've walked here a few times and always take the same two paths. With the bare trees and footprints, I discovered many more trails. I just kept following paths and turning frequently. There was a powerline nearby that also had a trail. I figured if worse came to worse I'd follow the powerline back to the road. I couldn't get too far off track.

And I didn't.

Miles/Steps:                   1.5 miles. I should have wandered a little more 
Bathrooms:                     GONE!  

Weather:                        36, windy, sunny