Soulful Solstice in the Catskills

The 2017 Winter Solstice dawned brisk and bright on December 21 in the western Catskills.

A mid-day hike revealed a message from nature: LOVE.

"Do not go gentle into that good night ... Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

A Soulful Solstice.

The Winter Shift

The first few snowfalls - the kind that stick and lend themselves to snowman-making - have helped us shift into a winter mindset in the western Catskills.

Winter boots have taken up seasonal residence near the front door where skis, poles, snowshoes and goggles now stand ready for mid-week hooky playing.

Back-pack staples transition from bug spray and mosquito face nets to bags of Twizzlers and tins of paw protector, because neither Charlie Browne or I have the sense to come inside long after we should have.

We transform into snow-crazed, ice-glazed cold-weather gluttons, happy to trek for hours through hushed forests.

Evergreens are caked and iced with layered snow, while aged, de-barked hardwoods showcase henna-patterned moss - an elemental art show.

The landscape willingly shares its wisdom gained in the seasonal shift - resist nothing, embrace change and carry on.

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie.

Winter Arrives in the Catskills

Time is different here in the Western Catskills. Though we don't live in the past, in many ways, we live in isolation. That's not necessarily a bad thing - politics aside.
Seasons change at their own pace, morphing from chilly to cold to freezing to bitter.

Meditation Rock.

Last week temperatures hovered near the 40s, great for post-Thanksgiving nature walks or end-of-big-game-rifle season hunts.

Blowing snow whitens the trees.

This morning we awoke to a couple of inches of snow and the annual first-snow derby-car dash on Bear Spring Mountain, where tractor trailers laden with factory goods unexpectedly found themselves ditched, awaiting tow trucks, stalling traffic, as many Delaware County residents were delayed in arriving to their out-of-county jobs.
Charlie Browne and I embrace the time difference and adopted our own measure - "Browne-time." Though many people are driven by a clock, we long ago gave up watches, clocks, timers and the like in favor of a lifestyle that was more attuned to nature's rhythms and present-moment living.

The first snow allows us a glimpse of pre-dawn wildlife activity.

We still hold jobs, multiple jobs in fact, that work with our schedules while fulfilling the needs of the employer.
Timing, they say, is everything. We agree. We've just found a different way to manage and flow with it, rather than letting it pass us by.
This way, when winter officially arrives, according to the calendar, on the Winter Solstice, a week from now, Charlie and I will be seven-days ahead of schedule.

Get outside and play!

*Between hikes, Lillian Browne writes about the environment, politics, crime and business in Delaware County. She is a NYS licensed outdoor adventure guide exploring the world around her, one step at a time, with her dog - Charlie.