A winter getaway

This winter has been the complete opposite of last winter. It's been unseasonably warm with almost no snow.  We had more snow during the freak October snowstorm as compared to the entire winter so far.  Last week I was even looking for salamanders and turtles...that's how crazy it has been. I can't say I'm complaining as my tires on my car and due to replaced in short order. 

We took our winter Vermont trip early this year and it was a very small group as the parents were up at the house.  Even Vermont had very little snow until the days we drove up and two snow events gave us about a foot of fresh and festive snow.  It was the perfect snow and made everything beautiful and postcard like.  It was the perfect depth to take leisurely walks in the woods and the dogs enjoyed romping about. 

We even had a couple days of bitter cold and we awoke one morning to what appeared to be frozen fog up in the mountaintops. See the pic above.  We did get stir crazy after a couple days and even though it was bitter cold that night I enlisted some to go out and look at the stars and attempt to see the Milky Way.  The Milky wasn't visible but Jupiter was out in all its glory and the stars were beautiful as usual in a cold and clear night.  The dogs settled in each night after hours of romping about.  See if you can pick out the flying pig formation dog in the very top photo.

The sunsets were awesome and I snapped photograph and photograph trying to capture that perfect shot while trying to stay warm.

We even got to see a mild sundog one sunset, which I kept calling a snow dog. It's when it's so cold two bright spots appear on each side of the sun.  Only one was visible as the trees blocked the other one.