It has been a mild start to the coldest of seasons. Scarcely a frost on show, Christmas and New Year have passed and as mid-January approaches, we have finally been gifted the landscape of a white Winter wonderland.
Yesterday, a flurry of snow arrived in waves with wild winds blustering outside, rocking the house and sending the farmer's horses in the field running for some cover. By evening, there was a thick layering of powdery snow atop the cars outside - a sense of happiness all round.
By 6am, I was wide awake and sat in the study listening to the radio and peering out of the windows with a mug of hot hazelnut coffee. It's a full moon today and outside, as the cloud parted, the snow lit up magically by the moonlight. I crept outside in my dressing gown, feeling the soft crunch of fresh frozen snow underfoot. I am almost certain that I was more excited than Christmas morning but given recent events, you could forgive us for being happy about the sight of fresh snow.
I woke Reuben at 7am, thinking he was most likely to be almost awake. At the offer of coffee in bed, it was easy to turn on the lights and whisper (probably more loudly than that) about the snowfall overnight. We've been running on empty for a while now and adventures have been less easy to achieve; at least we feel there have been fewer in number and now was another chance to correct this.
Out the back door at 8am, we were making fresh tracks in the snow for our first morning trail run of 2017. We were both grinning and it felt like there was such a spring in our steps. Stopping often to just gaze at the pretty landscape, that itself was still waking up for the day and in darkness, we took photos and pressed on. As we crossed onto the trail proper, we crossed the train tracks just less than a few minutes before the train raced into Inverness. The roads were quieter than normal; commuters perhaps sticking to the A9 for safety.
After the track crossing, the path pops through some trees; we nickname this Narnia normally for it's reminiscent features. This morning, though darker, it truly felt like we were in a magical world. As we exited the trees and opened out onto the countryside behind, it was just amazing. Down another path, we followed a line of trees looking underfoot at the footsteps of earlier four-legged visitors who had stolen fresh tracks ahead of us. Looking up, we spotted a deer chasing through the open country looking for a place to hide. It crossed, finally, a few metres ahead of us into the trees, hidden for now in forest.
As we ran on, the weather closed in and more snow started blustering around our chilly faces and making our legs yearn for the warmth of home. And for breakfast! It's hard working running in the cold, minus climate on an empty stomach. Turning back from this addition to our usual circuit, we continued our journey through the snowy terrain. The sunrise wasn't the main wonder this morning; more so was the beauty of the trees, lochans and paths as the dark turned into light. The run home was even more beautiful for seeing the snow in the pristine conditions of this January morning as we continued to make fresh tracks home.
It wasn't a quick run. It wasn't fast. But I can happily sit in our study looking out at the snowy field, watching nature play it's course, smug in the knowledge I have achieved my daily goal already and can now relax and enjoy the rest of the day and all it has to offer.
