A little more white stuff

Well, we've got more snow falling as I write. It's not sticking so great, but maybe that's good. I found out yesterday that I really need to replace the tires on my car before I get four flats at once or end up in a ditch or in the wrong lane. The tires that are on the car are old, hard and cracked - not something you really want to be driving on. I did a bunch of research yesterday to see what my options are for a new set of tires. What I found out is that people here really make tires a priority, seasonally that is. I've pretty much got a choice between summer tires and snow tires. All-season tires can be found, but they are pretty expensive and there are very few options. I guess I may end up buying my very first pair of real, true snow tires (minus spikes). Snow tires here really just mean tires with a million sipes (those really small slits) in the treads, plus being made out of a slightly softer rubber. They're made to keep you stuck on the road in the snow, ice and rain - something I'd like to do. Anyway, I don't really know why I'm telling you this since it really makes no difference to you what kind of tires I get (but I'll be sure to let you know).

Since it snowed yesterday and it was cold and I wanted some exercise, I decided to go for a walk this morning. It turned out to last longer than I expected it too, around six hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I walked around in the hills that are behind the village that I am living in. I've been there many times before and I wanted to go to one particular place that I really like. I started out heading at a right angle to the hills, but finally turned toward them on a dirt road (I did this because I don't really like walking on the side of the road when people are driving by at sixty). I finally found my way to where I wanted to be, but I took a very round-about sightseeing path to get there. It was neat to see everything in it's winter dress; actually I hadn't ever been in these woods during the fall/winter. Everything for sure looked different, which didn't really help me out in my pathfinding. Speaking of pathfinding, I think I saw more rabbit tracks today than I've ever seen in my life! O, plus wild boar, deer, and the occasional fox/dog tracks. The only animals I saw all day were two deer up on a hill above me, and they took off for one reason or another. Once I got off the roads, my footprints were about the only ones to be seen, although there were one set of interesting footprints. I followed them up one side of the hill and they took me on the exact same path as I was planning on taking, even to the point of being within about two hundred yards of the very tree I had made my goal before setting out. I left those footprints going off another way, but to my surprise, after walking for another few kilometers I picked them up going back down the very path I was taking. I followed them again but finally lost them when I got to the road that I walked on to get back to the house. Interesting... O yea, and it didn't start snowing until about then.

Well, it's stopped snowing now. I guess that's OK though, because it left us with another couple inches. I'm really looking forward to a lot of snow, but not until I get those new tires! Anyway, I guess I'm going to start heading toward the house. I've got to go put up the dog at the A's so it won't freeze; wouldn't want that to happen. Stay tuned for the next...weather report!