We mostly hung out, as Jordan would say. Other than for one hour-and-a-half-trip (each way) to visit with his sister and our granddaughter, we just kicked around our place, as it were. Going out for daily hikes in the ravine. Jordan on either cross-country or Telemark skis. He brought along a pair of ski boots to augment what's here, but the skis are permanently placed here for his use when he visits in the winter.

He accompanied us on our daily ravine walks, but he also went out skiing on his own at different times of the day, far more pleasurable for him, not necessitating that he be continually aware of where our two little black rascals were in proximity to his ski poles and skis at all times. Given their propensity to be everywhere at once, at all times.

Fortunately, the weather was with us for all but two days of his eight-day stay with us. Mostly sunny, cold, a bit of wind, just perfect for hiking about in the woods. And enough hilly terrain to make skiing fun. From time to time we see another person out on skis, the same person we've seen for decades, and some come along on snowshoes, but mostly it's hikers in the ravine.

Jack and Jill hardly knew what to make of seeing Jordan on skis; at first they thought skiing represented something threatening. Certainly to them the spectacle of someone gliding along on long flat pieces of wood seemed awry, unnatural, suspicious. Rounds of barking eventually gave way to fun-chases and our having to call them back as they frolicked in Jordan's swift wake down hills. Needless to say their presence, even as controlled as we could make it, would represent a nuisance to any skier. It was all good fun, though.

In the presence of our youngest son I always feel re-invigorated, as though I've dropped a few years of my advanced age. My progress up and down the hills was noticeably speedier, and I strode along with an alacrity I haven't felt in quite awhile. Odd, how our mental state is so instrumental in mandating our physical state, but there it is.