by kimqi | Feb 13, 2021 | all posts, Winter Hiking
The nailbeds of my fingers ache, I resist using my camera. Each time I take my gloves off to take a picture, I lose precious warmth. While this situation isn’t dangerous, it IS uncomfortable. My car is only a mile away. I consider frostbite. It would probably take my...
by kimqi | Jan 1, 2021 | all posts, Winter Hiking
I love hiking this time of year. Snow is beautiful; it muffles sound. The forest is nearly silent. It’s easy to see which animals are out and about by their tracks, people too. My heavy boots slow progress on the trail. As I plod along, there is a lot of stopping and...
by kimqi | Dec 20, 2020 | all posts, Winter Hiking
My favorite times are those determined by nature; storms, full moons, solstices and equinoxes. They are special because they remind us that we are connected to nature. The Winter Solstice is tomorrow, marking the shortest day of the year. Tonight is the longest night,...
by kimqi | Nov 15, 2020 | Winter Hiking, YinYang, Seasons
Stepping onto the trail with a shiver, I am grateful for my windbreaker and zip-up tight. A quick survey of the woods indicates that everything is brown and dead. I knew it would be. It’s mid-November in Illinois. Regardless, walking in the woods grounds me, even if...
by kimqi | Oct 31, 2020 | YinYang, Seasons
Fifteen years ago today, Steven Hill and I bought a house locally known as the Murder Mansion. Murder Mansion because it is a big house and, you know… MURDER. In the mid-1950s, a man called Tex Perkins killed his estranged wife and then himself in the front yard. In...
