Yesterday’s 60+ degree weather set a local record. I spent the day hiking. I never tire of the dense mountain laurel grove, the boulder I think of as "mid-way rock." I’m reading the writing craft books listed on my book list. I’m writing daily – the words want to wander freely, so I let them.

I wasn’t expecting a package in the mail. I finally got to open it after dinner. A Moleskine – a pocket notebook. Ironically, my Woodnotes pocket notebook is almost full.

One benefit of this winter pattern where springtime warmth erases snow twice a week is the steady supply of tracks.

My research has turned up amazing facts, including:

New York’s Hudson Valley ranks third in the world in the number of species of turtles – 13 species, including the endangered Bog Turtle.

The Hudson Valley also ranks second worldwide in the number of dragonflies and damselflies.

I learned this at the presentation I attended last night. I was motivated to attend because I wanted to know more about a grassroots group that has successfully saved thousands of acres of open space and set a legal precedent to boot.

There’s no congealed exhausted-stained icy slush in the woods – that’s a pavement thing.

An inch of crystalline snow in deciduous woods is the perfect medium to record animal tracks.

Once again Spring is playing leapfrog with Winter. Raccoon, opossum, rabbit, coyote, squirrel, deer and mouse meandered through the woods – probably just after the storm ended late yesterday afternoon.

Diffracted sunlight sends rainbow arcs across the crusty surface snow. The air is crisp and clear. The sky is dotted with a few small cumulus clouds and a wisp of a cirrus cloud.

It feels good to take a deep breath.

I became the custodian of a suitcase full of family photos of people I’d never met.

I was intrigued by the 8 X 10 of the man who looked like George Raft, a popular actor in the 1930′s.

My Dad recognized the man as Uncle Max, his mother’s brother, a butcher by trade, who lived with my grandparents and paid his rent in beef and chicken.

This weekend I hiked two trails I had not been on in months. The 60-degree weather was an incentive to hike from dawn until dusk, with plenty of time to stop and examine the newly emerging ferns, the tri-colored chunk of rock that resembled a gourmet pat� and the marks of rising sap on maples and birches.

This morning the pitter-patter of sleet hits my window, turning the inch or so of snow that fell overnight into slush. Even the chickadees are not out.

My sister is a librarian. I phoned her at home this morning to talk about her upcoming 50th birthday. We were disconnected three times during our call.

I’m not paranoid by nature. But I’m sure that given my anti-war activity during Vietnam and her chosen profession, someone is listening. What a waste of resources.

God bless Google for not giving in to government idiocy. There is no valid reason to invade the privacy of law-abiding citizens and certainly no legal grounds for the way it is being done.

Google also gets my vote for a way cool new feature: http://earth.google.com

This is a free interactive map download

I reached two goals yesterday. The first – I slept outside for the first time this year. It was a one hour power nap in my favorite pine grove. I love pine needles. When they’re brown they’re a soft bed, when they’re green they’re tea.

The second goal was a weight loss goal, which I’ll elaborate on in a minute.

I’ve definitely seen these sold in farmers markets and retail stores that sell organic produce. Usually the roots are sold with the coarse outer peel intact.

Burdock, wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace) and other roots are often very fibrous. For years I chewed the roots for the nutrition and spit out the pulp.

I have Billy Joe Tatum to thank for the baking soda tip, which makes them tender.

Billy Joe Tatum’s Wild Foods Cookbook and Field Guide

Today was perfect for wandering off trail. A single set of coyote tracks seemed to meander aimlessly along a southeast facing ledge.

It was a blessing to have just the right texture and depth of snow to follow the coyote tracks for the entire hike.