Sunday Afternoons with my Mother: Episode 2, A Snowy Day in January

My Co-Pilot It's Sunday afternoon and my mother and I on the road again; in this case, a snow covered secondary road paralleling a small river that meanders it's way into the White River and then the might Connecticut. But there's nothing mighty about this stretch of water, which isn't to say it isn't pretty. Because it is pretty, my mom says so, and when you are 94 years of age, you know a pretty sight when you see one. We're stopped in the middle of the road--which isn't a problem because we haven't seen another car in a half-hour--searching the open water for the nose of a beaver breaking the surface. We don't see any live beavers, and though it would have been nice, it really doesn't matter. We're here to enjoy each other's company, not watch aquatic mammals, so the day is a success anyway. We move on, winding our way back and forth up a steep road flanked by snow-covered pines, and then down a hill leading to a frozen lake dotted wit