Page 22 - FEB2026

Page 22
Community
By Donna RhoDes
February is here and that makes me a very happy camper as they say. We are three-quar- ters of the way through winter!
It’s in January and February when the northern portion of Earth tilts closest to the sun even though it is still further away. I could have read that wrong but IdidlookitupandIlikedwhatI read. Regardless, it is the month we begin to see extended day- light and that works for me!
February is also when Valen- tine's Day falls right in the heart of the month, so I thought this was a good time to talk about some of the things I love about New Hampshire winters.
While I hate cleaning off my car, I do love the fresh coating of snow we awake to many morn- ings. Not a lot- just enough to hide those dirty snowbanks. When there is that fresh snow- fall, I’m especially pleased to head out on the back roads, whether it be morning or night, and take in the beauty of the winter woods.
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Life on the Backroads
February 2026
I find that sunset, as the last flakes float down, see many of my deer friends. They come out from under the pines and hem- lock to start searching for food. Always a pleasure to see!
The houses on the back roads are also a pleasure. As lights shine through their windows,
reflecting on the snow, curls of smoke rise from their fireplaces and woodstoves, making them look like a scene from a Hall- mark movie or Currier and Ives lithograph. It tempts me to knock on the door and ask to join them in the moment.
Speaking of the deer and the
back roads, both day and night I love to roll slowly past the woods to see all of the footprints that track through the trees and fields beside the road. When I was just five years old my father would take me out behind our house, carefully pointing out the tracks while explaining what critter might have left them and any story those foot/hoof prints might have left for us to discover. To this day I still love tracking.
I love the trees this time of year as well. After a snow storm it’s beautiful to see the pines laden with puffs of fresh white snow. The birches bow down and the bare deciduous trees become a beautiful work of art. Each of their leafless branches
are lined with snow, showing off their curvy and twisted forms. Woodpecker holes fill with snow, the burls and other uniqueness that aren’t always visible once their leaves pop out are also highlighted.
I actually have an awesome book, Donald W. Stokes’ “A Guide to Nature in Winter” that usually answers any questions I have about this time of year. It, along with a few other favorites, have been my best resources for a long time.
Another love of mine is the night sky. On a crisp, clear night in February I feel like I can reach up and touch the stars. It’s breathtaking! If you don't have it yet, try downloading an app like “Sky Guide” or one similar. Point your phone skyward and it tells you what you’re seeing. Sky Guide also has a lot of ed- ucational features, too, that my grandchildren and I love.
Hmmm- know what else is fun? Snowmobiling, cross coun- try skiing and ice fishing.Watch- ing children skating, sledding or having snowball fights in the February landscape is enjoyable, too.
Sledding I think is the most fun though, except for climbing back up the hill (ha ha). One February when my kids were young, a friend and I created an “Olympic Sled Hill” in my front yard. The hill wasn’t all that steep though so we fixed that. We had our kids help pile
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