Winter

Snow Day

| edwinridout
Big snow (for us) was 4½”, falling much of the day Sunday 1/25/2026, ending with another 1″ of sleet after I’d snow-blown the driveway.

Then that white ice lasted almost three weeks. We found we could drive over it, but walking was very difficult. Eventually I levered-up a shovelfull at a time to make a single path the length of the driveway. And on a friend’s advice, I spread pelletized limestone hoping to add traction. After the ice melted this week, the lime remained on the asphalt. Photo Feb 14th 2026.

Cold morning run

| edwinridout
Almost 7am, Saturday 1/24/2026, St Clair Brooks Park, at about our third mile. Edwin, Cat, John, LJ, Josh. Only the camera noticed the first signs of a sunrise. I was trying to catch the sparkle of Fredericksburg city lights, here barely seen through the trees. It was cold — the app said “12°F, -11°C, Humidity 31%, Wind N 10mph…” It was cold when the wind was blowing, but mostly it wasn’t. Our first big winter snowfall didn’t start until later, at almost midnight. I finished 9 miles at about an 11:30 pace.

Belmont

| edwinridout
The Melchers’ sun room, added about 1920 to their 1795 home at Falmouth, Virginia. (My first time allowed inside, helping the curator remove a Christmas decoration.) On the left, as Gareth pointed out, is Long Walk beyond the row of boxwoods. To the right are the stone studio and galleries.