“It’s ice” her voice giggles a little as she makes her way through the woods on the unplowed county road. The road is not plowed as it is not for cars, just for people and bikes.

I can see the sun glinting off the top of the show that remains. It doesn’t take much to realize that the rain yesterday coupled with freezing temperatures last night as turned the snowy tracks into a ski paradise for the squirrels and a traction nightmare for humans.

I take a deep breath and begin my journey. There are patches of pavement calling me, beckoning from their patches of sunlight. It is just the first few yards that are the worst.

The birds sing.

Machinery sounds from the garage next door.

I step, and step, and step…

“I feel like I am being watched.”

“Probably by the men on the garage.”

“That is what I figured,” and I start to laugh

My laughter throws me off balance and…

Within a second I am sitting on the ground smiling aware of the cold stinging on the heels of my palms.

The birds kept singing.

The machinery didn’t stop.

And her mittened hand reached to mine after I stood.

We made our way to the pavement and the across the creek and into the next neighborhood together.