​'Tis the Season....

The food and drink of 'Tis the Season are here! The Litchfield Tree Lighting and Holiday Stroll welcomes carolers with hot chocolate. Dunkin Donuts has rolled out its peppermint mocha signature latte and strawberry frosted holiday sprinkle donuts.  Arethusa eggnog in glass bottles decorated with a 2024 holiday label is now on the shelves. And the week of recipes for the New York Times Cooking Cookie Week has begun. 
 
However, before you immerse yourself in the many calories of the season, why not take yourself to Topsmead to earn those calories?  The Friends of Topsmead docent team with the help of the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) staff has closed up Miss Edith's cottage and gardens for the season, but the Topsmead landscape awaits your arrival.
 
But be prepared... with its 500 plus acres spread across Jefferson Hill, the highest point in Litchfield, Topsmead can be quite an invigorating place for a December walk.  While its open fields are welcoming in the summer, they offer no protection from winter's icy blasts and wind chills. But do not despair. Topsmead offers several trails that wind delightfully through the woods where you can escape the clutches of those wintry gusts.  Bonus of winter walkabouts--no ticks!  Just bundle up in your down parka, wool hat and mittens, Turtle Fur neck gaiter, cozy socks, and warm winter boots and go tromping about the Topsmead trails. 
 
Start by checking out the trail map in the Welcome Shed and making a route plan.  You might want to walk the self-guided Ecology Trail and enjoy its interpretive signs.  The Bernard H. Stairs Trail, named after Miss Edith's last farm manager, is a well-protected meander through the woods and is marked by small, light blue, wooden signs sporting the Topsmead lion.  Possibly the least traveled trail is the J. Golding Trail, named after the now-retired, long-time DEEP employee who lovingly and competently devoted herself to caring for Topsmead.  Walkers on this trail will be treated to a walk across the old earthen dam that created Stairs Pond. 
 
Rosy-cheeked, invigorated, and happy after your trail exploration, head home and reward yourself: curl up on your couch, warm your hands around a mug of your favorite hot drink, and munch on a holiday cookie.  Well-earned indeed.
 
'Tis the season....  Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!
   
Margaret Hunt
BlogMistress