December rides...

[north woods gal]

Emily, great pics. Always neat to add a bird to your life list. Saw our Northern Shrike, again and also had a visit from a Brown Creeper. Have had Goldfinches, now and then, but, so far, no Pine Siskins. Usually get those every winter. Some winter we get invaded by Common Redpolls, other winters, never see a one. Nothing, so far, this winter. Other wise, tons of Chickadees and Nuthatches (both White-breasted and Red-breasted) and lots of Woodpeckers, including our favorite, the big Pileated.



Our snow is so iced over and crusted that skiing is impossible, so donned the backcountry snowshoes and worked on widening and packing my trails in the hopes that I might be able to run the fat bikes on them, tomorrow. Wow! Been awhile since I've done any snowshoe work. Gonna feel it in the morning.

[emily_in_nc]

I adore Pileated Woodpeckers. We used to have them nesting in our woodland property in central NC.

[north woods gal]

They are a real treat, for sure. Now and then, one will come in to our suet feeder. They really dwarf the feeder, they're so big.

Thought maybe I could do the fat bike on my ski trails, since I've been packing them down so much with the snowshoes, but no go. The fatty just breaks through the crust and down into the soft stuff, unpredictably, with total loss of control. Went down a couple of times and gave up on the trail riding. Made up for it with 5 miles on our icy roads, though. Hey, I'm still biking late in December and loving it. Even had some snow falling as I rode.

[north woods gal]

Great news! The ice highway is open.

That's what we call our lakes when the ice is strong enough to actually support travel and, in fact, some locals actually do drive their cars across the ice to take shortcuts. Not me, but I will ride my fat bike. Did four laps round our 77 acre lake for about three miles of ice riding on the big Salsa and added another half mile of access trail riding to get to the ice.

Most of the ice out in the middle of the lake stays free of snow cover or has just a thin crust, thanks to the wind. Believe it or not, the fat bike can handle this super slick ice that is actually too slick for safe walking. Just have to be careful to make very wide turns and find some snow covered ice when you stop or start for the sake of traction. Compared to skiing or walking, though, you can really cover the miles on the fat bike. December 30th and my fat bike riding is just getting warmed up. Go fat bike!

[emily_in_nc]

December 30th and my fat bike riding is just getting warmed up. Go fat bike!

Have fun! Happy for you!

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily

Last entry for the year. Did a little skiing in the morning, compliments of an inch and a half of snow, overnight. Could use more, for sure, but actually fine for the fat bike, so finished the day with a few laps around the lake on the bike.

For the month, never missed a day of either fat biking, skiing or snowshoeing. Great way to end the year.

Happy New Year, everyone.

[azfiddle]

Friday (Dec 30) we drove east about 80 miles to Willcox, AZ and did a birding ride. First stop had lots of Sandhill Cranes, a Prairie Falcon and a Eurasion Wigeon, along with a lot of other ducks and a few lingering Avocets. Then about 13 miles out through the desert and agricultural fields to find a Ferruginous Hawk. Added 4 species to my "birding by bike" list and spent some quality time with my husband. It was overcast and cool, but calm, so a nice day to ride. Maybe 32 miles?