There was a fresh skiff of snow the day before Christmas and no one else was here on our hill to mar the smooth surface. None of the part timers came for the holiday and the few others that live here were off visiting somewhere else. As we drove down our road, we noticed some fresh tracks. They were from a big animal – a cougar. Later Ken found them in our parking area and it appeared that the animal had stopped and looked at our front door. Out for a walk the next day I found clear tracks on our walking trail and at the part time neighbors’ place and more on the road. It looks like two animals traveling together – maybe a mom and mostly grown cub. You may remember a post I made last January when a cougar was captured just downhill from our house. Sure, we know they are out there but to see evidence of them being so close to the house does cause the hair on the back of our necks to raise. Luna seems to be very aware of them and frequently barks in the dark and needless to say, no one is going outside alone after dark, especially the puppy.
Author Archives: Teri J Pieper
This is our sixth Christmas here! How can that be? It’s long enough to establish some holiday traditions. And one of my favorites is to ski with the dogs on Christmas afternoon. This year there is not enough snow to groom the trails at Big Valley so we went for a walk with dogs and friends instead.
Here is an article about the economic impacts to our community in a low snow year.
Back at home I was hoping I would be skiing by now however the weather is not cooperating. We have a minimal snow cover at best. Some trails up high are ready to go with least amount of snow possible for grooming. A snow storm is forecast for Friday so hopefully we can break out the skis soon.
Meanwhile, we still need to get out and do something so we continue to walk in the hills. The dogs and I joined MA and Frida this afternoon. Down in the valleys, we were socked in with fog but as I drove to their house, I could see a bit of blue sky and sure enough, when we got up to Frost Road, there was clearing! It was glorious.
All too soon it was time to leave Vieques. We’d had a wonderful trip – full of good yoga practices, good food, friendship, warm water and more. I hope to return someday. There was lots more I could have done and certainly I need another chance to practice snorkeling. Many thanks to our yoga teacher, Lindsey for coming up with the idea and organizing it and showing us this beautiful place that she has visited many times before.
Happy Trails!