December 27, 2021
As has become tradition with my visits to Beaverton, I took a stroll around the local lake with my family. At this point, the fresh snow had puddled into a wet mush and the trees were stripped of their white highlights. It was an overall very gloomy, cold, wet tundra, but something I had come to expect visiting the northwest during this time of the year.
The wildlife had retreated either to warmer regions or cozier holes. I did spot some Nutria rats of which I continuously failed to pronounce and had to be corrected several times by my nephews. One in particular was very unmoved by my presence and graciously allowed me to photograph it. There were also a few Nutria families who retreated back into their hidden hollows as we crossed paths. Unfortunately, the sun had receded so low and the light so dim in the overcast that it was difficult to make them out even in the final images.
Dressed as I was, no amount of casual winter wear could protect me from the sharp cold that would bite my nose and the tips of my unprotected fingers. The nephews seemed sturdy and relatively unphased by the winter air, and I did my best to mirror their steadfastness in this weather that was internally destroying my frail west coast persons.