A Bench by a Pond in the Middle of the Woods

The forecast had said it would turn sunny and warmer in the afternoon, but the wind was bitey when we crawled out of the car in the Moshannon State Forest, above Black Moshannon. In about three seconds, I was back inside the car, putting on my long underwear and every layer I had with me.

I poked my nose back out. Rats. It was still bitter cold. "Send me a postcard when you get there!" I shouted at my husband; "I'm staying in the car for the afternoon!"

We agreed it might be best to eat our lunch before leaving the car. That was a good idea. The sandwich and potato chips warmed us up a bit. In just a few minutes, I put on my boots and packed up my sack, grabbed my chair, and we headed down the hill into the woods.

The road was icy, lined with ruts, in fact, with water running over top of the ice. It was a winning combo, if you love to do the slippy-slide. We walked carefully off to the side, watched our step. And as we made our way down the hill into the windbreak of the trees, the bitterness of the wind subsided, and I started to enjoy myself.

The first thing you'd probably notice, besides the ice on the road, was how much more snow there is in the woods than there is in town. We got maybe an inch or two on Friday morning where we live. Up here, they'd gotten several inches, at least, and it was staying put.

The woods were covered in snow, and the sun was shining brightly. The sky was a shade of pure blue that could make your heart sing. We walked up a side hill to see what we could see: lots of evidence of deer, for starters.

And green moss, with huge icicles dripping from the rocks. I bent down, took a closer look. Wow, the unique textures even in such a simple thing as an icicle . . . Did you ever stop to look and see how they are made?

The backroad, if you could even call it a road, wound away from us into the distance. I took many photos of the road in snow, my husband walking away from me, ever my "man in nature" subject. (See photo in the extras.) The woods shone like a winter paradise in the colors of blue, white, and green.

We walked along the creek and checked things out, and we encountered the neat, strange shapes of skunk cabbage. Jumped across the creek, and got muddy boots jumping BACK across and landing in mud, at least six to eight inches deep. That was a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have been.

The little road took us by two cabins, in front of them a spring and a tiny pond with a bench. The pond and bench were absolutely adorable (see above), and there was a bat house to the distant right. I longed to while away the sunny hours there, but settled for taking a few pictures. The reflections were awesome, some of the very best I've seen.

Then we found a spot at the edge of a sunny field, where we finally set up our chairs and relaxed in the sun. Tiny Tiger and the Passenger got to field test their new travel sacks. They looked a little trepidatious (see photo in the extras), but it was a very good first outing for the sacks, which kept them cozy and warm.

The varieties of ice we found were amazing. Frost crystals stood like tiny monoliths in fast-frozen mud. Layers of ice formed a frozen fairy land that sparkled and shone in the sunlight.

The afternoon grew warmer. I started taking off layer after layer. There went the gloves, the fleece vest, the long underwear. So glad I decided to get out of the car and come along.

And finally, we visited a little wooden bridge that was our last stop on our adventure. I took pictures into the sun, the white light shining out, dividing itself into rainbows. This is the secret that the white light is hiding: that a rainbow lives inside it. Never forget this: as a wise man once said, what is essential is often invisible to the eye.

And then we headed back up the ice-rut road, up the hill, back to the car. "Tomorrow is supposed to be just like this," my husband said; "Maybe you should take the day off and we'll go out on another adventure." It sure sounded good to me so I think I'll answer with just this one word . . . YES!

The soundtrack: U2, with Beautiful Day.