Breakout

Given the availability of hosts, wine and suitable vessels, holy Mass is thankfully a portable grace for the ordained. It was for sake of the hallowed custom of celebrating the Holy Sacrifice in an appointed and sacred place for the good of the people and for natural means of bodily sustenance that a breakout on foot was necessitated after the blizzard subsided.

My handiwork of Sunday resulting in a driveway clear of snow and free of ice is of no use for extricating the car as the road out remains unplowed.

D., who also lives on the compound, made three runs of 7/10 of a mile each from his house to the road and back with a snow-blower to clear this car-wide path on the main entrance lane into the compound.

Trailing the movements of indigenous creatures is made easy by snowprints.

This is the main road into the compound; as you can see, not high on the county plowing priority list and remaining buried under what began as over two feet of snow.

The deer have no need of plows to get from home to work and back.

After a short hike I discovered that Mattaponi Road was plowed only from Saint Thomas Church Road up to the last descent toward the bridge over the river and the entrance to the retreat center.

Greater telescopic capacity was needed than I possess to give a better view of this feathered sunbather.

Hiking against traffic on St. Thomas Church Road.

Cleared very well for two lanes of traffic and quite dry.

Idyllic winter view of St. Thomas Church

The steeple, roof and gravestones capped in white
V. met me not far from this spot for transport back to the church. Mission accomplished.