What a fabulous weekend for me and my cross country skis. Had about 3 inches of fresh snow to greet me on Saturday morning and managed to get out before the snow plows. Made it the one mile over to the park on skis, right down people's sidewalks. Once at the park, I managed several trips around the lake, plus some side runs to a wildlife area, in all about eight miles. Best
birding event of the day was a Cooper's Hawk a mere fifteen feet away, sitting on a fence, next to someone's birdfeeder. Magnificent sight in my
Nikon Premier LX 10x25, right down to the birds eye. The lesson, here, is to never ski without a compact binocular (as if I would go anywhere, by any means, without a binocular). Again, I am pleased with how close an approach the skis allow when birding. Guess the birds are unaccustomed to see people on skis. Come to think of it, many of my neighbors probably feel the same.