Winter's Last Smile

It looked just like the sort of thing that somebody like me would have done, but I swear I didn't do it! As my husband and I drove back the road to Young Woman's Creek on this day, we passed a large, white creature made of snow and ice, with a great big smile drawn on its face!

It was a spring day that stole a page out of summer's playbook. And we were happy to be out in it. After one of the longest, coldest winters that I can remember, spring has seemed like a long time coming.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, it was a weekend of firsts. We visited my family on Saturday, for the first time since Christmas; and had our first tasty treats from the local soft-serve ice cream stop.

On Sunday, we packed up and went to Sproul State Forest on our first backpacking trip of the year. We also saw our first butterfly. The butterfly was small and orange. Too little and too early to be a monarch, it may have been a comma, but it was a speedy little fellow and I never got close enough to see it clearly or photograph it.

Monday morning, we were awakened by about two dozen rain drops at 4 a.m.; no rain was in the forecast, so I put the fly on my tent and went back to sleep. After first light, we packed up our gear and backpacked out. And then we climbed in the car and headed for our first wade of the year, at Young Woman's Creek, near the village of North Bend, not far from Renovo.

Monday heated up quickly, and by around noon, when we made it to the creek, temperatures were approaching 80 degrees F (around 27 C). The water was running high and fast and cold, and though I'd brought my swimsuit along "just in case," I realized instantly that wading would be challenging enough, in the high, green water.

It was the sort of thing that we used to do all the time in the early days. Just throw our gear into the car and take off, not even knowing exactly where we were heading, but absolutely certain we would end up somewhere fun. Off on an adventure, to be sure.

And not only did Monday turn out to be the day of our first wade; it also turned out to be our first day for shorts and t-shirts. And with the temperature as warm as it was, it felt like spring just might be springing straight into summer.

There were just a few remnants of the long, cold winter: a few bits of snow and ice here and there in the shady spots. And the smiling white gentleman (or gentlewoman, to be fair) along the road, of course.

But when we finished our little water adventure and finally left Young Woman's Creek, we passed by the white smiling creature yet again, only to discover that the day's warm temperatures had brought about its demise. While we'd been wading, the creature had melted and fallen over, face-first, onto the road.

I have to admit that I may have seen prettier sights on this day - as the woods around Young Woman's Creek are as refreshingly beautiful and clean as its waters - but none as strange as this, So this is the shot I chose, from hundreds, to represent this day.

Of all the wandering roads our path could have taken us on on this day, how very strange that we should arrive at this place, just in time to enjoy winter's last smile.

The soundtrack: The Flying Machine, Smile a Little Smile for Me.