A rare October nor'easter blew into the region this weekend dumping about 7" on heavy, wet snow in the greater Worcester area.  Areas north & west of Worcester such as the New Hampshire border and the Berkshires received as much as 20"-30"...it set records, it downed trees, it severed wires, but it also allowed me to take the sled for its virgin ride, and it also allowed me to take my son Hunter, who is all of 16 months old, for his first ride around the backyard...the video is shaky, but I think it's potentially Oscar-worthy.

Yesterday proved to be one of the most successful Saturdays in recent history.  I woke up bright and early and made it out to the fields that abut the hunting property to do some early morning pheasant hunting with two buddies from work, Leo and Tim.  We made our way through the fields for a few hours, seeing a handful of birds, but ultimately returned home with nothing.  It still felt great to get out and spend some quality time in the outdoors trying to stock out freezer with fresh meat.  I ended up having to cut the hunting short in order to be ready to head to Springfield, MA to the site of the "Big E," the Eastern States Exposition, for the annual Snowmobile Association of Massachusetts (SAM) snowmobile show.  It was like a time warp, and it was awesome.  Walking around the show grounds with my dad, uncle, and cousin Garry - the original snowmobile group - after all this time being out of the sport was like being transported back 20 years to when the four of us would visit similar shows when my dad and I were first getting into the sport.  Snowmobiling carries so many memories for me and the opportunity to get back into it is going to make this winter one to remember.  I ended up getting a new modular helmet and dad grabbed a case of synthetic oil, and being immersed in all of the new sleds and gear really got us pretty revved up for the season.  There are still plenty of weeks of pheasant and cottontail hunting remaining, turkey season is right around the corner, and deer season is in December, so it's definitely going to be a busy fall leading into snowmobile season.