२२ जानेवारी, २०२३

I felt honored to make the first footprints in the new snow.

It was sunrise time...

IMG_4437X 

... and I walked/ran 1.6 miles — out to the vantage point and back to the gate...

IMG_4433D

... before I encountered another human being. It was beautiful seeing — and making an imprint on — all that fresh snow.

I did see the occasional Year-of-the-Rabbit rabbit tracks along the way.

२७ टिप्पण्या:

Original Mike म्हणाले...

You can make the first footprints in my driveway if you like. i'll show you where the shovel is.

I have always felt guilty marring a fresh snow field.

n.n म्हणाले...

Althouse makes a footprint. Cute. An image evolves as an object to realize a physical embodiment. Cigars all around.

Jaq म्हणाले...

I loved that line in Walden where Thoreau called himself the town's "Inspector of Snowstorms."

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snow-storms and rain-storms, and did my duty faithfully; surveyor, if not of highways, then of forest paths and all across-lot routes, keeping them open, and ravines bridged and passable at all seasons, where the public heel had testified to their utility."

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

The difficulty with the untrodden snow is that it might disguise the ice beneath, and you can't tell.

Owen म्हणाले...

What fun. How was the footing? Was the snow crunchy or swishy?

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

Braking Bad: When Scott Adams went full conspiracy theorist

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"The difficulty with the untrodden snow is that it might disguise the ice beneath, and you can't tell."

I know it's ice underneath and I can feel it, because it's hard and bumpy under the soft snow. But I've got my Kahtoola Nanospikes, so I don't have a problem with ice.

But there is a problem of a couple potholes, and a few days ago, running on new snow, I stepped right into one and fell headlong. I didn't get hurt, but only because my foot didn't get trapped in the hole. Today, I forgot about those holes and they were once again hidden. But I was lucky this time.

I need to think about the holes and choose a path that clearly avoids the general area where I know they are. I don't know why the University doesn't fill them. They've been there a long time and are especially dangerous in the snow season.

Original Mike म्हणाले...

"I don't know why the University doesn't fill them. They've been there a long time and are especially dangerous in the snow season."

Meade, fill in the potholes for your beloved. Be her self-appointed inspector.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

@OM

You can't just inject yourself into doing repairs on someone else's property.

Owen म्हणाले...

Put some little flags near the potholes --I am imagining them in the middle of the open trail, so in the brush at the trailside nearest to it you could stick a flag (one of those little ones for invisible fence etc).

Original Mike म्हणाले...

Legally, sure. In real life, you'd be doing everybody, including the University, a favor.

I'm assuming we're talking a bucket full of dirt. If it's more extensive, well then I agree.

rcocean म्हणाले...

Try running in snowshoes. Safer, and much, very much, more excercise.

Clyde म्हणाले...

There was a post a couple days ago about blogging and logorrhea. It brought to mind my visit to Gettysburg back in October. The town is known for the bloody battle that was fought there on July 1-3, 1863, and for the speech by President Abraham Lincoln dedicating the National Cemetery for the battle dead a few months later.

Lincoln was not the ceremony's main speaker; he was invited to give a few appropriate remarks at the end, and the coordinators of the ceremony were not really expecting him to accept the invitation, but he did and came to Gettysburg to give his brief, historic speech. The main speaker was Edward Everett, one of the most famed orators of the age. His speech was over 13,000 words long and lasted two hours. Lincoln, by contrast, gave a speech of 271 words that lasted only a few minutes. Today, Everett is remembered only by historians, while Lincoln's prose lives on more than a century and a half later. At the time, some members of the press ridiculed Lincoln's speech as being far too short, compared to the expected sort of oration that they got from Everett. Only in retrospect did it gain the respect it has today.

Eva Marie म्हणाले...

“You can't just inject yourself into doing repairs on someone else's property.”
Sometimes you can . . .

“LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Richard Ankrom knows a little something about traffic signs: Despite hours of staring at them each day, you really don't notice them until you miss them.
That's what spurred the artist and sign maker to make a national splash back in 2001, when he secretly designed, built and installed a 5 Freeway north traffic sign over the 110 Freeway.
"I used to live in Orange County and had gotten lost because it wasn't adequately signed," Ankrom said. That's when it dawned on him. "I'm a sign guy. I could do this."
And he did. For nine months, his homemade sign stood screwed onto the already standing 110 north sign with no one at Caltrans even noticing it. When he eventually leaked it to the press, Ankrom's artistic traffic piece gained national attention.
"I had my 15 minutes of fame," he said. "It lasted about two hours."
But the sign lasted for eight years. Caltrans loved it, eventually upgrading it with a similar design.”

Narr म्हणाले...

"I don't know why the University doesn't fill them."

Maybe they need prodding from a well-known retired law prof, who could speak to them about issues of liability for personal injury?

Just sayin.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

“You can't just inject yourself into doing repairs on someone else's property.”

You could try wearing a UW sweatshirt and placing an orange cone next to you as you fill it, use a masonry mortar mix and fill it dry, it will set later. Make sure you fill it at 3 pm on a weekday, that is when the lawn maintenance crew is expected to work.

If caught tell them that UW is the property of the people of Wisconsin, then casually mention that you are a Democrat.

n.n म्हणाले...

Virgin snow.

Mason G म्हणाले...

I live a half mile from downtown. When it snows, my dogs and I make the first tracks on our morning walk more often than not.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

I did see the occasional Year-of-the-Rabbit rabbit tracks along the way.

And did you see tiger tracks last year (Year of the Tiger)?

n.n म्हणाले...

Seriously, no one? Bueller?

Madonna - Like A Virgin

Warren म्हणाले...

Fresh snow? Reminded me of the final Calvin & Hobbes.
Calvin and Hobbes encounter fresh snow and decide to explore.
https://calvinandhobbes.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_a_Magical_World

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Virgin snow.

Seriously, no one? Bueller?

Madonna - Like A Virgin


You know who gets the concept of virgin snow?

Astronauts!

They're jumping up and down with excitement.

first one

first one

plant our flag

here!

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Maybe they need prodding from a well-known retired law prof, who could speak to them about issues of liability for personal injury?"

Reminds me of the time I tried to inspire a law professor to do something about the large dead tree branch that hung right over the spot where children stood to wait for the school bus.

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

When it's a city tree with the dangling dead branch, I've had good luck simply letting the city know about the danger, and they'll come and remove it.
I don't recall having this happen with an actual neighbor's tree. But my neighborhood isn't quite so treed up like University Heights.

Narr म्हणाले...

"Reminds me of the time . . . ."

I don't recall that one. What happened?

n.n म्हणाले...

Here's another:

Ice, Ice, baby

Rappin' around the fire.