As has been my norm for a number of years now, I was in bed at roughly 9 PM on New Year’s Eve. I get NOTHING out of New Year’s anymore, which is a shame, because that’s the night that Wifey and I met many years ago.

So, we kissed and hugged it out around 9, wished each other Happy New Year, and I was off to bed, with Wifey and Lola not far behind me.

My plan was to get out for a quick lumber in the morning and then home for breakfast and a New Year’s Day filled with Premier League matches, but Wifey suggested some other indoor activities that I was not going to pass up for a cold, sub-par hike in the icy woods.

So, I took my first images of the year in the yard of the Cul-De-Sac-Shack via the most expensive photo blind I’ve ever had—the doorway of said C-D-S-S.

Friday (or is it Sunday, who knows?) I slept in a bit, thinking that a treadmill run would be more worthwhile than another short lumber at Sylvan. However, I checked the county park’s site, and the service road and entrance were back open. Huzzah!

So, I coffeed up, dumped out, layered up, and got out the door for my first lumber of The 2026 Soiled & Ignorant Tour; a 5.23-mile hike on icy trails covered with a dusting of snow on top that had me thankful for micro spikes and strong ankles.

I can’t unsee this typography.

I didn’t see much to photograph, just a couple of deer along the way and some squirrels, but no birds or other animal life to speak of.

As I was finishing, saw some dude out on the ice fishing. Reminded me of the other day when I was at Meijer (the cleaner, nicer, midwestern version of Walmart) and saw a display of “sleds” that are used for hauling gear out onto the ice. Prior to moving to Michigan, that is something I had NEVER seen in my life, sort of like the ubiquitous jars of pickled bologna that every store carries in large quantities all year-round.

The first lumber of 2026 was a day late and wasn’t exactly the greatest, but I was happy to have some part of my daily routine back and to be outside in the fresh air.

Later.