Shoveling Snow...Nature's Way Of Burning All Those Holiday Calories

 Relatively speaking, we dodged a snow bullet. That isn't to say we didn't some snow from this last wave of storms. We did, but not as much as others. And to add to the fun, our family is contracted out to shovel eighteen homes in our neighborhood when the snow reaches a certain level. 

In the last seven days, we were called out twice.

I'm beginning to not mind shoveling show. As long as it's not feet deep, I can clear a driveway and sidewalk relatively quickly. I must be doing something right because (so far...), I've not suffered any major back injuries or anything else. Yes, I'm sore after a few hours of shoveling, but I usually feel better the next day. Of course, the older I get (now in my upper 50s...) that may not be the case in the future.

As I returned home from a shoveling adventure the other day, I thought about the physical workout I've been doing with shovels and snowblowers. I know many of us disregard their diets at the holidays and enjoy all the delicious food that seems to be everywhere. 

I thought maybe shoveling is nature's way to burn some of those quickly-amassed holiday calories.

Doing some rough math, I've got to shovel a whole lot more driveways and sidewalks to break even--we had a lot of goodies this year and I partook.

I suppose there's a bright side to all this snow, other than it's desperately needed in our drought-affected areas, and that is burning all those calories. Good to look on the bright side every once in a while.

I Spotted The Deer, Then...Well...Not Much

While taking out the small dog (she needs help getting out of the house...) this evening, noise from the hill caught my attention. I spotted a man, a boy, and a dog on the trail leading up the mountain. That wasn't unusual--men/women, kids, and dogs go up and down that trail all the time.

It wasn't until I looked a second time at the mountain that I saw the deer.

Seeing deer on the hill isn't that unusual. They're always there--it's just we don't see them, or we're watching something else. I noticed they were close enough to perhaps get a good shot or video of the beautiful creatures. I knocked on the window, asked my wife to fetch my Nikon (I thought if I got the camera myself, the deer might be gone when I got back...), and once she gave the camera to me, I quickly focused it and started filming.

And I filmed...

And I waited for something interesting to happen.

And I waited...

And filmed...

And that was pretty much it.

I stood there on the street in front of my house filming and waiting and not much happened. The deer just kept grazing around the same spot. I thought maybe the man, boy, and dog might make them move, but that didn't happen. I wasn't close enough to capture really impressive pictures or videos--hey, it's not every day you can get those kinds of shots.

The deer moved slowly enjoying their dinner and eventually I stopped filming and went inside. I'm still glad I got to watch the deer tonight. It's one of the advantages of living on the side of a mountain. I'll bet if I looked up more often, I'd be treated to more views like this...even more exciting ones, too.