On Deer Trails

Three inches of powdery snow Monday night. Sunlight glinted off it this morning like so many precious gems. On the trail, then off the trail, down the ridge into the "bottoms" (o.k. so they only drop 30 feet or so).

Followed the deer trails through the brush. Deer will most often pick the path of least resistance, their trails narrowly worn around thickets and even low overhanging branches. Their tracks superimposed on the snow in the exact spot their pathways are on dry ground. A mile with the deer, then back onto the human footpath. That mile was the best mile.