Wandering in the Snow

Yesterday, I awoke to surprising news -- Montgomery County closed schools!

I thought we'd maybe get a delay, but didn't anticipate closure with the bulk of the "bomb cyclone" storm being off the coast. The Eastern Shore was supposed to be hammered, but anything on the western shore of the Chesapeake wasn't expected to get much.

So, that notification of closure when I checked my phone at 5:30AM was a pleasant gift. I went back to sleep and didn't get up for another few hours. :)

Snow all up in my grill

While Pat headed out to his tool route around noon, I puttered around and didn't do much of anything until I had to head over to my audiologist appointment for my first followup. She didn't tweak anything, but I go back in two weeks to make another report. At that point, I might get a new program to counteract the too-frequent tinnitus in my left ear. Depending on how that goes, I might not actually need the right side device. 

$5500, but at least they also act as wireless ear buds and as a hands-free device

I've had them for two weeks now, and I'm still meh on them. I guess they are doing what I need them to do, but I'll wait and see how things go at the Caps game on Sunday and at my own hockey game on Monday. 

So, after the audiology, I figured I'd run some errands until Pat returned home so that the WRX wasn't in the way in the driveway. I grabbed a bunch of bags of clothes and stuff that we'd had sitting around forever, waiting for someone to take them to Goodwill, and after I dropped them off, I decided that it was time to wander. 

I went to my usual go-to spot off Ilchester Road, only to find that they are doing some kind of construction on the Patapsco River crossing and the trailhead is closed. Sad, I parked the car, and contemplated what I wanted to do, as it was very brisk and near sunset. 

the car is filthy; it'll get washed at some point, I guess

I decided to head back towards Montgomery Road, but turned left onto Landing Road, since I knew it had to parallel the river. Sure enough, only a mile or so down the road, I encountered a trailhead. I parked, and started wandering through the cold, still forest for about a half-mile before I turned around to come back. When I actually looked at the trailhead information, I learned that it's the Cascade Falls Trail, and that it is a loop. Depending on which part of the loop you take, it's either 0.9mi or just over 2mi. It can also link up with the trail I was trying to use (Grist Mill Trail). 

I got a few interesting photos with my phone before I left. It was bitterly cold, so I didn't linger too long, and my gloves aren't tech-gloves, so anytime I wanted to take a photo, I had to expose my fingers. That wasn't fun. 

This stream was amazingly not frozen over

There was this random area that was decorated with ornaments. Maybe there was a wedding or something else out here recently?

The trail was easy to find.

Little bird tracks everywhere

Sunset snuck up on me

 It was a short interlude, but it was needed. I have to do this more often. My psyche demands it.