Nearly LOST!

Sunday, January 27:  We are predicted to get some pretty rough weather over the next couple of days: 6-11" of snow, very windy conditions, and dangerous cold! So ... after church today, I planned to take a short hike over at Knapp Forest Valley Park and snap a few pictures while I was out.

 I had just driven into my driveway to change from my church clothes into more layers and fetch my hiking boots, when I received a call from a dear and loved friend wondering if I could meet her for lunch. Yes! We enjoyed a very nice time together and THEN I drove over to Knapp Valley Forest Park (perhaps a mile or so from where we had eaten lunch) and stepped out for a brief hike.

 I was hoping very badly for the SUN to make a showing today while I was out because a snow picture with NO shadows can be very dull, especially if the snow is "old" snow and no longer tracing the branches with beauty, etc.

 There are a lot of trails back in this park and I've only visited it 3x prior (back in the fall). Two of those times I was NOT alone and we didn't take an exceptionally long walk. But today, the air was SO crisp (it was actually FREEZING out here), and I kept taking different turns along the paths ...

 ... and I got a little bit turned around out here ... I was almost beginning to panic about finding my way OUT of these trees before I froze my nose off ...

 But then the sun broke through ...

 And suddenly being "lost" didn't bother me quite so much. It makes SUCH a difference when the sun shines and those dancing shadows come out! I love them so much.

 I will say, though, that I prayed quite fervently that God would help me find my way back to where I had parked my car ...

 There wasn't a soul in sight ... not a sound, except an occasional bird or scampering squirrel ...

 But sure enough ... I walked up the side of one of the hills and saw the fence for the baseball field and the elementary school in the distance--whew! It was 13 degrees and the wind was starting to increase ...

Very thankful to get to my car, turn on the heat full blast and arrive safely home. Tomorrow has "snow day" written all over it ... so I am unsure about baby Aidan or MNBS ...