…Just had to post this seldom seen sight.

BTW: The almost 2 feet of snow didn’t deter canines and their companions from enjoying the outdoors in New Canaan’s wonder-full Waveny Park on the once pristine Lapham Estate.

Sunday’s howling wind, light snowfall and sub-zero temperatures didn’t stop residents from visiting Spencer’s Run dog park in Waveny.

The wind whipped across the Waveny athletic field blowing snow and a bitter chill that brought temperatures down to zero degrees Fahrenheit Sunday.

As I sorted through my closet for my warmest winter cap, the one with the fur ear flaps, I felt a tingle of anticipation at the prospect of a walk through the wintry landscape. After calling a few friends who were at home lounging Sunday away in pajamas and complaining about sub-zero temperatures outside, I thought surely I would be alone.

To my surprise Spencer’s Run had visitors! There were a dozen canines running about, their owners throwing tennis balls, frisbees and chatting as if it were any other Sunday. One of the greatest things about this day in the park; No one was complaining. I can’t tell you what a joy it was to be outside. After 20 minutes socializing in Spencer’s Run, I clipped up the leash and went for a walk over the Waveny trails with my pooch.

A friend called – the coldest moment I experienced was holding that phone without a glove – he and his daughter would meet us with their dog. …and that’s how we spent our Sunday afternoon in Waveny. We walked for almost two hours. When our conversation turned to hot chocolate and the warm fire at home, we turned back toward the cars and called it a day. A beautiful day in Waveny Park.

It was zero degrees today. We saw cross-country skiers, kids sledding, dogs playing. We saw interesting stones in an old stone wall and some neat looking trees. We kicked snow piles and crunched frozen puddles. We joked around and had a family good time. We put on a jacket and took up adventure in Waveny today.

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I went to pick up something my dog deposited and these two dogs followed me. I loved the sound they made crunching through the thin layer of ice in the snow. Half of the fun in Spencer’s Run is playing with other people’s dogs.

A primary example of irony was revealed when we realized that the smooth new asphalt path in the woods of Waveny Park was completely impassable. We followed other people’s tracks along the side of the path. The family in front of us and undoubtedly those behind us walked just far enough off the man-made path to get traction on the slightly irregular surface of Nature. Funny isn’t it? The prodigious cost of the path in dollars, plant and animal life, and the permanently altered environment in the name of making life “better” and it was impossible to walk surefootedly.

There were several children in front of us truly enjoying the unpredictable and slippery slope, sliding their way along the icy paved section, but the adults and even the dogs kept off the path.

Cold wind blowing, the crunching snow, the swishing sounds of so many layers of clothes, the hat and scarf around the ears; the heightened alertness from the quieting layer of white: increased line of sight, an echoing stillness out of the wind.

Being warm under all these clothes, plopping down in the snow for a rest. How could this make me feel so good? Taking off one glove and setting it down, careful not to get snow inside, reaching into a pocket to retrieve a chocolate, mmmm and getting that glove back on quickly, then rolling over on my stomach in the snow over the grass on the cold earth…. for some reason… because I can; because I’m warm inside, because I’m happy, because I’m not afraid to lie on the ground – outside.

I’d rather a path than a road, a field than a lot, a meadow than a lawn even a cabin to a castle. It’s a new year for this world and my weekend walk in Waveny Park reminded me that I am glad to be alive. I am hopeful for the world and for our Nation in the years to come.

A wish for a prosperous and healthy 2009.