
If you spend anytime in a undeveloped area this winter, take a few minutes to look around and observe the differences. The wildlife trail that has been trampled into a muddy pathway for the past 6 to 8 months is now refreshed by each new snowfall and shows distinguishable time-stamped footprints of deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, maybe even a coyote or wolf. The Northern Cardinal and Blue Jay that you could previously hear chirping in the trees behind cover of leaves, needles, and pine cones now is a bold accent against the monochromatic gray backdrop. The newly frozen water adds the entire State of Rhode Island to Wisconsin's explorable seasonal land mass. And, for those that build up the courage to discover some place new, but were always afraid of getting lost, know that your footprints in the snow always allow you to remember where you came from.
"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me, an invincible summer." Albert Camus