It was another grey day but I’d mentioned that we had not been up to Carter’s Pond recently, so when my driver suggested we “pop up” there, well, why not?
After all, the snow would be gone again soon and I wanted to see the pond iced-up.
.
No, we didn’t get there yet.
This is Lake Lauderdale which is just up the road.
Route 22 for a change.
This is where there are osprey nests, mounted on power poles. But no-one was home this day.
.
When we go off on these jaunts, I am generally not expected to navigate and if I am, advance notification is required in order for me to tune in to the correct App which takes determination.
The navigation assistants on my phone are tricky. One speaks to me in French which Grant doesn’t like and I’m never sure which one is going to come up.
This day, there was no problem because neither of them came up, as we were in an area lacking connectivity.
Instead I photographed a strange-looking tree.
.
When finally we were re-connected, I discovered a whole new navigation device had taken over that seemed intent on dictating an itinerary we did not wish to follow.
We fell back on Grant’s phone which was in the process of expiring.
.
But why did we need guidance anyway? He knows the way.
It turned out the man wished to take a cross-country route, but by the time he announced this, we had passed the required turning.
.
Grant’s navigator refused to speak, so he got vexed and pulled into a parking area to thump it.
Setting off once more, it seemed to me we turned back the way we had come and soon there was another stop and additional thumping.
More verbal abuse than actual thumping, though the latter has always been my method of dealing with stubborn gadgets.
.
The upshot of all this was that I became somewhat disoriented and it didn’t help that we had forgotten the actual name of the place.
We weren’t even certain if it was a lake or a pond.
But now I my phone was displaying a map and I stabbed at a promising-looking blue bit which identified itself as Carter’s Pond.
That was it! In future I shall think about ex-presidents who were peanut farmers.
.
Peanuts shouldn’t be hard to remember!
“Peanuts be our favourite food!”
.
It’s always useful to have landmarks.
“My house is the orange one.”
Hard to miss, especially with snow on the ground.
.
It was a very grey day!
.
Not yet at Carter’s Pond, we passed another small body of frozen water.
As far as I am aware, my memory is not failing, yet I cannot recall ever seeing ice this colour, except in photographs.
It’s very pretty.
.
“Let’s go up here“, said Grant.
It could very well have been someone’s driveway but it turned out to be a county road heading the right way.
These days it’s not a good idea to explore strange driveways.
.
Familiar crossroads.
Familiar doesn’t mean I could pinpoint them on a map, but fortunately Grant could.
.
A pocket of light in a sombre landscape.
A metaphor for life.
.
The trees seem prepared for Spring.
.
Somewhere I read that February would bring a good deal of snow which wouldn’t be a surprise, as it usually does.
Well nothing is much of a surprise now.
.
At Carter’s Pond we met an elderly gentleman (probably my age!) who marched gamely to the end of the boardwalk.
It was somewhat slippery, but that wasn’t his challenge.
.
He told me he suffers from vertigo.
So every day he walks to the end here and looks down.
To prove to himself that he can.
.
It’s not a precipice, but for someone challenged by heights, a significant drop.
.
Cold-looking, but really not.
.
Here too, the ice was almost luminescent.
.
We wandered along a snowy path.
.
And found some great reflections.
.
.
.
Cautiously negotiating another boardwalk, Grant noticed this off to one side.
.
Put there by children?
For children?
The angels looked rather sweet in the snow.
.
Further along, I came upon a hollow stump.
The one item is obviously manmade and the large circular object seemed painted, but what of the small circles?
I put my hand down but something said “don’t touch.”
.
So I took pictures instead.
We wandered back to the car and I was pleased we’d come this day to Carter’s Pond, because within hours the snow and much of the ice would be gone.
For now.
I think you did well not to touch. I’m sure you would have been turned to stone, at the very least!
Thank you, Carolyn, for the excitement, and the peanuts!
Joanna
I admire the way you choose to venture out on a whim. If I didn’t have to go out in snow to walk Ollie, I could happily stay inside until it had melted.
Best wishes, Pete.
The ice on Carter’s Pond looks milky, yet also translucent (it hardly sounds possible to say such a thing). I love the reflections and it was nice to walk in the snow with you for a change. Suddenly, one sees so many more little things and detail than is the case when driving in a car.
Interestin that over here a ‘pond’ is something barely bigger than a kitchen sink. That would definitely be a lake – if not a lagoon…