by Susan Ashdown, Dryden Rail Trail Task Force member
In my mind I know that we have many more weeks of winter; that despite the recent warm days, average March daytime temperatures are in the 40s and nighttime temperatures are in the 20s—and March blizzards and Nor’easters are likely to move in quickly as they did in 1971, 1993, and 2017.
But, I hear the water freed from ice rushing in the creeks and culverts and the different songs of the birds. I feel the sun on my face and the softness of the breeze, and I see the buds starting to swell in the trees and a solitary skunk cabbage spathe and I dream about an early spring.
The longer days are so welcome as well. No more rushing to finish needed tasks before it gets too dark to take a walk on the Trail. I also look forward so much to no mud on the trail between the F.H. Fox Bridge and Route 13 when the stone dust is finally put down…maybe not this spring but hopefully soon after!
Winter on the trail is always beautiful. The snow on the trees, the long straight flat stretches that call for cross country skis, the sunsets on the days when the clouds clear just at the right time. But when spring does come this year I will be ready!
Susan is a member of the Dryden Rail Trail Task Force and is lucky to be a trail neighbor. She walks and bikes the Varna section of the Trail frequently, and has put away her cross country skis for good, but likes to snowshoe on the trail when the snow is deep enough.. All photos by Susan Ashdown.
Dryden Rail Trail 