Winter Wonderland?

An Astonishing December Palette.

Minnesota is full of surprises this winter and among the most extraordinary are scenes like this. All along the trail, rich green grasses fill in the wetlands and the late afternoon sun burnishes the bare trees with tawny highlights.

Small rivulets trickle through the low areas singing the melodies that belong in October. Emergency personnel are warning people to stay off the ice. My snowshoes are still hanging in the garage.

“Packed in my mind lie all the clothes Which outward nature wears, And in its fashion's hourly change It all things else repairs. In vain I look for change abroad, And can no difference find, Till some new ray of peace uncalled Illumes my inmost mind.”

Henry David Thoreau

This uncommonly warm December set temperature records all over the state. Fifty degrees in late December is a bit geographically disorienting, but it also gives trailwalkers the rare opportunity to ditch the polar fleece and mittens, go out and squish in the mud and enjoy the amazing colors of this unusual winter landscape.