This is Dill Brook Road, Petersburgh, NY, just down the hill from where I live. On my way to town (Bennington, VT), I picked up a hitchhiker. He was probably in his 70's, with a broad, curling, white moustache. He opened the car door after staring in at me, probably determining that I seemed harmless.  I said, "Where's your coat?" He told me he was wearing it. He had on two flannel shirts. I guess he was warm enough. It was only in the 20's F, certainly not below zero like it had been a week ago. After shoveling snow today, I was hot enough to take off my clothes and roll around in the snow like one of my dogs. I refrained, however. My luck a school bus would have driven by.

Anyway, the hitchhiker said to me that we were having a winter like the old days. He has lived here all his life. This is my partner, Bill, who spent Sunday shoveling snow from our wood tent top (here)

 and the top of our house. We have several roof leaks already this season.

Here are a couple trees from our yard. We live on 70 acres of woods. It sounds glamorous, but the isolation gets to me sometimes. So, as I've said here before, I talk to the dogs. 

Here are those trees from our house window.

One of our mutts, Buddy, who stands a couple feet high and is 80+ pounds. I took this photo today, as he digs in the snow framed by standing windshield washers. If you are not accustomed to snow, you might not be aware that keeping your wipers upright is a way to help preserve them in the winter. I just replaced the driver's side wiper last week.

The dogs and I walk daily in the woods, unless there is ice. The last couple of weeks, I have worn snowshoes. Right now, I stick to a path. There is so much snow that most of my "land markers" are covered with snow. For instance, all of the stone fences are no longer visible. Here is one of our marker trees, that is, a tree that is distinctive enough that I know where I am. This tree bends, almost having a seat that is now covered with snow. Today, I turned around at this tree, taking this photo.

A problem with taking photos is having to take off your gloves. I paid big bucks for these a few years ago. I have never regretted it. 

A downed tree from our walk. You can see the above marker tree on the left.

The first photo above is Dill Brook Road. This is Dill Brook, mostly snow covered.

This photo is a scene off Highway 22--a two-lane state road where I picked up the hitchhiker.

Another one of the trees in our yard. Somebody here said he wasn't sick of my tree photos, so I'm sharing my favorite.

This tree stands behind the two I featured above. It is more difficult to see from our house.

This photo is from Petersburgh Pass, which is up another mountain, on the way to Massachusetts, maybe about 10 miles from our house.

And as everyone knows, don't eat yellow snow. 

To read Sheba Marx's Good Things about Unemployment, click here.