Snowshoeing at Rachel Carson NWR

Yesterday the temperature crept up into the 20s and the sun peaked out, so after a good long rest when I finished blowing the 4 inches of fresh snow out of the drive, after lunch, Carol and I decided to go snowshoeing at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. The loop trail there is just about the right length for snowshoeing novices…and popular enough with snowshoers that you practically never have to break trail. We have something in neighborhood of 4-5 feet of snow on the ground, where it has not drifted, so the woods and marsh have a totally unique aspect. The Merriland River, which runs along one side of the trail, and Branch Brook, which bounds another side and meets the Merriland, are both tidal rivers this close to the sea, so the river ice, which is at least 3 feet thick at points, is fractured by rise and fall and stained by the mixture of fresh peaty waters and salty sea waters.

These are 4 in-camera HDRs. Sony HX400V. Processed in Lightroom on my Surface Pro 3 tablet, and assembled in Phototastic.