1338 – Wondering in a Winter Walking Land | Walk With Me

Episode 1338 – Wondering in a Winter Walking Land | Walk With Me

 

[START OF RECORDING]

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time for the podcaster who’s here to put you to sleep and take you for a walk. it’s time for one of these Sleep With Me: Walk With Me episodes. I don't know where you're hearing this, but I’m glad you are. This is…welcome to Sleep With Me. If you've never listened before, you're in for an interesting thing that hopefully is a treat. It’s a treat to have you here where, this particular episode, I’m gonna walk in the snow and just…I’ll just talk, just like we're walking together. You don’t have to do any walking. You could listen to this while you're walking if you want to supplement your walk with…walking with somebody, or you could listen to this to fall asleep or relax.

 

I’m just gonna be here to talk to you and take your mind off of stuff, keep you company like a friend who’s a little bit…you know, I’ll be…I’m not great at facts, but I’m great at talking for about forty minutes or so after this intro. Yeah, the way the show works is it just takes your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep or to give you company in the deep, dark night, whether…however you feel. Oh wow, there’s a beautiful, beautiful bird flying by during our intro. I’m not even sure what kind, but it’s a larger bird. Wow, gorgeous, powerful birds coming into this intro 'cause they want to help you fall asleep, or maybe they're just like, hey, it’s time for me to…you know, circle-of-life type stuff. It hasn’t done any circle-of-life type stuff; it’s just patrolling. So, yeah, I’m just gonna walk in the snow and talk to you.

 

What we got coming up; if you're listening to this ad-supported version of the podcast, we’ll have some support so paying for the podcast is optional. If you're…this could also be bonus content. There might not be any ads if you support the show directly. Then we’ll have an intro. Tonight’s intro will be a little bit shorter than normal, but the intro’s kinda meant to ease you off into sleep, listen to while you get ready for sleep to help you wind down, and then we’ll have me walking in the snow, talking to you about what I see, and just to be here for you like your friend in the deep, dark night. So, I’m glad you're here. I really appreciate you coming by. I really hope I can help you fall asleep, and we do it together. People…if you're new, don't worry about it, but if you're a regular listener, that’s really how we do it.

 

The main way we produce the show is the people that support the show directly, then there’s the people that support the sponsors whose ads I read, and then there’s the other support we get. So, we do it together so that everybody can benefit, and it’s a great thing. So, you don’t have to participate. You can participate. If you just want to drift off, we do that 'cause of the people that choose to opt in kinda that stuff. So, I’m glad you're here, and here’s a couple of examples of how we're able to be here for you twice a week or more.

 

INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me: Walk With Me edition, the podcast that could put you to sleep or keep you company on a walk or during the day, but it’s mainly the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a snafe…snafe…safe, snoozy place for you to fall asleep and take your mind off whatever’s keeping you awake.

 

It could be thoughts, things on your mind, thoughts, could be feelings, anything coming up for you emotionally, physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be going through something, you could be getting over something. Whatever it is, I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so that you could fall asleep or so that it’s a little…feels a little bit better in the deep, dark night. I’m here to kinda relieve some of whatever it is that’s keeping you up or the feelings you have when you can't sleep and you want to sleep or you need a break during the day. So, I’m really glad you're here. The way it works…oh, why do I make the show; that’s kind of an important thing.

 

I kinda talked about it just there, but the reason I make the show is…one, 'cause I’ve been there, and this show is kind of…there’s a community around the show, but you don’t have to be a part of the community, but you could feel like a part of the community. I don't know if that’s the best way to describe it, but there’s a lot of people that have been listening to the show for a long time that are glad you are here, whether you're coming back or you're new. They hope this podcast can help you out like it’s helping…helps them out.

 

There really is people rooting for you right now, lying in their beds, and they're like, man, maybe if this show helps you like it helps me, you'll be here rooting for people, new people or regular listeners or returnees that…they get…that you get the relief that they get in the deep, dark night, the sense of comfort, the sense of distraction, the sense of friendliness, whatever it is. You can passively root for people. That’s the best part about this show. You don’t really have to actively root for people. You could just be like, uh-huh, yeah, glad you're here. Uh-huh. You don’t even have to feel that welcome, especially if you're new, but the power of the welcomeness is that people have been in the same situation or a similar situation to what you've been in.

 

Somewhere in the world right now is someone listening who can really relate to whatever it is that’s keeping you awake. There’s enough people listening, and those are the people rooting for you 'cause they get it when most people don’t, and most people or a lot of people will be dismissive or not understand. There’s people listening right now…they get it and they are glad you're here and they hope the show can help you out. The other reason I make the show…not only 'cause I know what it’s like in the deep, dark night…is because I really believe you deserve a good night's sleep. You deserve a place where you could get the rest you need so your life is more manageable and that you could be…that tomorrow’s more manageable and that ideally you get the rest you need on a regular basis.

 

You could be out there flourishing. That’s important, and our world needs you, but I want you to be able to enjoy your life a little bit more, right? Now, this show doesn't work for everybody, so we have a website set up, sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou, that you could check out if this show does not work for you. But give it a few tries and see how it goes. It does take some getting used to, and I’ll talk about that a little more. But the way the show works is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents, which means I’m gonna go off topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, I’m gonna repeat myself, I’m gonna struggle to describe simple things like sticks or rocks.

 

But it’s all for a sense of comfort and distraction, friendly comfort and distraction. So, just see how it goes. Like, if you get here, why wouldn't you be skeptical or doubtful, right? You've been trying to find something to fall asleep, you're struggling to fall asleep; somebody recommended the show or you found it by searching for sleep or whatever. Just give the show a few tries, 'cause it does take some getting used to, and that’s just what regular listeners say. Like, oh man, at first when I listened to this podcast, it’s like, what is this guy…is this guy really just walking in the snow and he’s a little bit out of breath? I say, oh, am I. That’s a sleep podcast? But I say, at some point ideally you wake up the next day and you're like, oh wait, then I woke up. I had no idea he stopped talking. So, see how it goes.

 

Most people…yeah, regular listeners say it took two or three tries and then I realized, oh, he’s serious about not being serious. So, I don't know, it’s just a different kind of podcast, right? If you already know or you figure out you don’t know, yeah, you have sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou so you find something that does work for you. But I am glad you're here. What else do you need to know? Most people don’t like the show, it takes some getting used to…this is a podcast you don’t really listen to. You kinda just barely listen to it. So, it’s almost like passive listening but not quite, like having a TV show on in the other room or on your phone under your pillow that’s not super engaging, but it’s just engaging enough to say, huh, okay.

 

Yeah, it takes your mind off whatever’s keeping you awake. So, it’s a podcast you barely listen to. It’s also a sleep podcast that’s been around for a long time, but I’m not actually here to put you to sleep. There is no pressure to fall asleep with this show. I’m gonna be here about an hour. This is a outdoor episode, so I don't honestly know it’ll be exactly an hour, but most episodes are a hour or over a hour, but this will be pretty close so you don’t have to worry about when you're gonna fall asleep. What else? Oh, I’m not really here to put you to sleep.

 

I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, because there’s people who are listening who can't sleep at all or who need a break during the day, and, I don't know, I think that looseness is one of the things that works about the show, 'cause I’m not here…I’m not a sleep guru and I’m not here to tell you, this is what I’m gonna do to put you to sleep. I’m just here to be your friend in the deep, dark night, your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your bore-bud, your neigh-bore, your Borbie, your bore-bestie, your best bore-friend f’eva, to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. So, that’s one thing. What else? The structure of the show…the structure of the show is a little bit different, too.

 

The show starts off with a greeting so you feel seen and welcomed in, and then there’s support so paying for the show is optional. If you prefer something without ads, you can get that on Sleep With Me+. But most people prefer to listen to this ad-supported version. Then there’s a long, meandering intro which is meant to ease you into bedtime versus put you to sleep. We also have a story-only show that’s available on every podcast app, but most people like having this wind-down period. But just see how it goes as you become a regular listener. But that’s the intro part that we're just finishing up now, and there will be a bedtime story, or tonight it’ll be a walk, a winter walk. I don't know if I said a winter wonderland, but it was wonderful. Yeah, that’s it. I think…I’m trying to think of anything else you need to know.

 

I mean, I’m really glad you're here, I work really hard, yearn and strive. We really want to help you fall asleep. Oh yeah, and we're always looking to put out different style of episodes. So, like these walking episodes, they're a little bit more experimental, and sometimes we put them out on our subscription program and kinda see what happens, but you never know what’s gonna help comfort people in the deep, dark night. So, I never stop trying because I’ve been there, and I never stop trying to solve this puzzle of like, what is the variety of stuff I can make so you feel seen and comforted in the deep, dark night and so you could drift off?

 

Or, if this episode doesn't work for you, you know in a couple days something totally different’s gonna come out, but that I’m here on a regular basis for you to keep you company. So, I really appreciate it. Thanks so much for coming by, and I yearn and I strive to help you fall asleep. Here’s a couple ways we're able to do it for you twice a week or now in 2025 during the busiest times of the year three times a week. Thanks.

 

Alright everybody, it’s Scoots here, and I’m walking in the snow. So, I’m thinking I’ll either release this in the summertime or the wintertime. It is…you can hear the snow pack below me. We’ll talk more about it. I’m in Central New York. It is cool or cold, but not freezing cold. I think it’s about 3:30 p.m. and I got the kinda typical Central New York gray winter sky, which I hadn't…this is the first winter experience I’ve had in…I think it’s over eleven years, but it may be over even…I don't know if I’ve been here in the wintertime since my daughter was born, but there may have been one time I was here since my daughter was born in the wintertime, but I don't recall it. So, yeah, I’m gonna walk.

 

We're gonna do a little winter walk, and I’ll keep an eye on the distance so if you decide to go for a walk while we're walking…this episode probably had a shorter intro, just like a behind-the-scenes. I’ll do the intro at the end so that I’ll know what the walk is. But yeah, I’m…there’s…the snow is kinda the…I guess it was once-wet snow, 'cause maybe it was above freezing, but now it’s below freezing again, but it’s not frozen. Anyway, it turns out I’m not good at describing snow. I’m entering the first set of small woods. I guess this might be bigger than a copse, which I’m always…C-O-P-S-E, right? I’m always like, what’s a copse? How many trees make up a copse of trees? It just makes me think the trees…who you calling a copse of trees over here? Or a grove. I would almost…well, how many trees you think?

 

It’d be tough to estimate. There’s five there, so I guess there’s probably fifty trees in a hundred feet, two hundred feet? Two hundred feet…you think that’s two hundred feet or a hundred feet? It’s definitely not three hundred. I’d say two hundred feet by twenty feet, you think? Maybe thirty? It’s on a hill. I’m gonna be going up the hill. I’ll try to do all the up-hilling at the beginning of this. Wow, there’s a lot of low…maybe former seedlings of pine trees right here in the center of this grove. Sorry, I’m just placating the trees. Turns out that they didn’t want to be called a copse. Maybe a copse is like twenty…less than twenty trees. I have snow boots on, two pairs of wool socks, a nice jacket, mittens, a hat, something around my neck, I have…what do you call those things you put on your legs? Underpants?

 

No. Under…why can't I think of it? Oh, under…thermal underwear? I don't know if it’s thermal, but long underwear; that’s what they call it. It’s like underwear, but it’s long. It’s a bit of exercise. A lot of older trees underneath the snow or former trees. Branches, they're called. Okay. I did do a location scout. I’m gonna actually go through this tree thing, but I got some bun…rabbit prints I’m following right now. But yeah, so, I did navigate this area two days ago and I said, this will be perfect for a walk in the snow together. The sleepy rhythm of Scoots lumbering through the snow…now, right now I’m under a pair of trees. Are you too few to be a copse? These are pine-type trees, evergreen trees. Alright, I’m out of the trees, and I’m gonna be headed across another…not icy expanse, but snowy fields, I’d say.

 

But this is a area close to my childhood home, and the last time I was here, this was…there’s a lot of hills, so we would come sledding here as kids. No kids sledding today, though. It’s Saturday. I don't know why. Then…but I’m trying to think…so, probably the last time I was here…I guess I was here with my daughter, 'cause I think I remember her going sledding, but I don't know when that was. Then I think I would come here incredibly infrequently. When I say incredibly infrequently, I mean probably three times in my life. My mom had a pair of cross-country skis, and so, we’d come here and cross-country ski.

 

But as a kid, I would come to this area 'cause it has woods, and in the snow, it’s…it feels like…it was perfect for imagination play, particularly one of the areas of imagination play I like to play, which was alone, though I would…could imagine I did it with my friends or siblings, too, where you're pretending you're on some sort of adventure. Right now our adventure is just walking and me carrying you off into dreamland…snow walking. Would you need snowshoes? I’ve never worn snowshoes before, so I don't know. I mean, they would definitely make it…this isn't so deep you need snowshoes, but I wonder what it would be like with snowshoes. Oh, by the way, this is recorded in binaural audio, which means that it’s like stereo. There’s kind of a mic in each of my ears.

 

So, if you were listening to it that way, you'd hear it; my left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, in both your ears. Let’s keep…I don't think we’ll be able to keep a rolling count — we could try — of…so, to my right is woods, so there’s a lot of trees, not just…and they stretch and go. I actually went in these woods — maybe we’ll go in them — when I was location scouting. But I was thinking we could keep a eye of squirrel and bird nests. Right now I see for…oh, 'cause there’s no leaves on the trees, it makes it easy. These woods do not have any evergreen trees. So, I see one, two…one, two, three for sure. I saw one earlier, but we didn’t really count it, so probably…oh no, is that another one, too? Tough to say if that’s just…there’s some that are definitely…they're bird or squirrel nests.

 

I don't know, are they occupied in the winter? I’ve seen squirrels about, so I would assume so, but I don't like to assume. Oh no, so, it is one. So, one, two, three, four, five…just in this small area. So, yeah, I’ve been cross-country skiing a couple times here, and a couple important observations I’ve had on this trip. By the time you're hearing this, unless we put it out early which is always possible, too…oh, Canada geese, a lone one. I hear ya, bud. Yeah, flying solo, eh? Did you not fly south for the winter or what? Okay. So, we're lucky in the sense that most of the people here have said it’s been a while since they’ve had a winter with a lot of snow, which I don't know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, because part of the reason I’m here is I’m evaluating where I’m going to live.

 

So, I guess what I was saying is by the time this is released, maybe I’ll be living in Central New York or not. I don't know. My daughter’s trying to figure out where she’s going to go to school and I’m trying to figure out where I’m gonna live. I’ve lived in the Bay Area for a long time. It’s quite expensive, to be honest, and it’s…I guess…and I’ve lived there a long time. So, those things…'cause I’m like, huh, or would I live in another city? So, I don't know. But I guess I had one really big question. There’s another…two more nests, but I lost count. Also, I don't know if you're listening; back there, my…the snow depth’s…my left and right leg are much different. So, my left leg is sinking much more than my right.

 

So, I know that I’m a person that likes…I’m not a sun-bather, but I do like being exposed to sunshine, and so, that was a big…has been a big concern of mine because it’s like, how would that…how’s that gonna affect my wellbeing, right? So, I guess I don't have a clear answer to that, but I have a clearer answer, because this is a gray day, but technically there’s also some blue sky. I’m outside and I’m not outside in the sunshine, but there is…I feel like exposure to sunlight…? But I don't know. I haven't looked up the facts. But if I’m working by a window with this kind of gray light and I’m getting…and then going for walks outside, will that…? It won't be the same as living in the Bay Area, obviously, or California, but what would that mean? What would that be like?

 

It’s something I don't have the answer for currently, but I guess maybe I will. Alright, so, I’m continuing to walk. I did just hear either a bird or a squirrel or a chipmunk make a little peep, and we hear that Canada geese. But it is pretty quiet. I hear a plane, traffic…I’m up on a hill, and I can kinda see the entire or a large part of, actually, the Central New York…this part of Central New York’s region. If I had my binocs with me, I could see pretty far. I’m pretty sure I could see the Tug Hill Plateau, but that’s something I’ve always wanted to get to know better. Facts. But yeah, so, I’m looking down off this hill. I can see some of the buildings of downtown Syracuse. I can't…there’s another hill in the way, so I can't see anything from Syracuse University.

 

I could see a set of hills on kinda northeastern Syracuse and a set of hills north, but I can actually see over those hills to…all the way north. So, I’m pretty sure you could kinda see Lake Ontario, Lake Terry. I did visit Terry yesterday, and she was…I couldn't…I thought I tried to record one video; it didn’t take, but her power and the temperature when she was…so, there was a lot of these kinda snow mounds that develop on the lake, and then…so, you couldn't get close to Terry, but you could be on the beach, and the wind coming off…and there were waves just smashing up against the snow mounds. So, it was powerful. It was impressive. I guess if I was in a relationship with Terry, we’d take a break in the winter because I couldn't…oh, an entire flock of birds, small birds, flying overhead. There’s also a cawing bird.

 

Not sure exactly which type of bird. Now I’m headed into the woods a little bit. Kinda hear some ice. Oh yeah, let’s take this path here, and we’ll go up in the woods. Then we’ll have gained all our elevation. So, when I was a kid, these weren't my main woods, right? ‘Cause these woods are…to access them in the spring or summertime is…there’s a…what do you call this place? Golf course, so you can't gain access to these woods without going on the golf course, and if you do that, you're not gonna be…you know, they don’t want that. So, what is my point? My point is that the only time I would come to these woods is in the winter. But there’s these…I don't know, is it shale or…? These kinda little canyons made up of flat stones. I don't think it’s limestone, but I think it might be shale. I don't know, maybe not.

 

But flat stones that are cracked and…'cause there’s water. But we don’t get a lot of exposed rock in Syracuse, New York, unless you're looking. So, then the idea of having a six-foot wall of exposed rock to me felt like…so, I’m climbing up a little bit of an incline, so you can hear my hands and my feet. It was a big deal. You were like, holy cow, man. You would say…my version would be Yosemite. But also, when you do imaginative play, you can kind of really start to use your environment to tell a story that you're participating in. Oh wow, so there’s even stone up here. We’ll go on it. Got some quality moss in here, too. Hopefully we’ll be at the end of our…oh no, there’s one more hill. Okay. We’re almost to the end of our elevation gain.

 

But yeah, big rocks, even…I hear people talk about small-town living, but what about small-rock living? Then you get exposed to big rocks and you're like…huh, maybe I shouldn't go up here, though, because…well, too late now. But I do understand what you're saying, is like, I don't know where the gaps in the rocks are. Okay, so, I’m gonna go back. I’m gonna follow these other paths that people have…I’m having to blaze my own path, you know? Let me just follow somebody else’s. So, I’m following somebody else’s footsteps. Somebody was walking their dog, and these footsteps were actually here yesterday, too, or two days ago. Yeah, so, I could follow their footsteps instead of…and then I know how deep the snow is.

 

I’m actually putting my shoes, boots…and they may have…I think maybe there was more than one person or they used their boots…their path twice. I can see where their dog thing took breaks. I can see really clearly, separate from these, rabbit tracks in the snow. I don't know, I’m gonna try to see if I see any squirrel tracks to contrast them. So, yeah, this would be a good woods for play. But yeah, only occasionally in the winter would I be in these woods, 'cause usually if you're here, you would be sledding. If you were sledding, you probably weren't gonna do any…what do you call it? Woods activity, just 'cause you were primarily sledding and then walking up the hill.

 

So, you were not distracted by the sledding, but that was occupying…you actually…when you sled, you can add imagination into it, but you don’t have to, is the nice thing about sledding. It has its own built-in excitement. So, here’s a thing I didn’t know; so, to my right, about, I don't know, at least three football fields, maybe even further, is a apartment complex. Yeah, it’s probably even further. But then to my left is woods and then the golf course, but the woods here are a little bit thicker, and I don't think today is the day, but I’m thinking that these woods…how much…how fully did I even explore these woods? I don't know. I actually lost the human path, but I’m off the stones and I’m just following the dog’s path. Oh, which is running parallel to the human path. Got another intersection.

 

There’s definitely deer out here somewhere. I haven't seen any deer tracks just yet. Yeah, this is…we got some boot marks here. So, I could take a left here, follow these. Are these…? Is this…? Oh yeah, these are boots and dog…so, I don't know, I like…this is interesting as far as recording goes, 'cause it’s like…how these boots…oh, this person just came out here and then made a loop back, so it’s not gonna help us. Did they know something we don’t know? Yeah, those are stones. Okay, so…yeah, actually, they took a little…deep one there. So, I’m gonna stick to the known path even though there’s only been one other traveller here. It’s interesting stuff. Got some more cawing action. I don't know; how’s this pace for everybody?

 

I guess if you're walking on land, you could be taking this nice, leisurely pace with me, or you could be going faster. Either way is fine. Won't bother me. Might bother those crows, though, or ravens. But yeah, here…oh yeah, there they are, a couple of them above me. A couple more nests…maybe one of them is their nest. They're saying, yo, sleep podcaster, we don’t need you. How good are their eyes? Can they see me? I guess they can. Yeah, we’ll find out if your caws make…help people sleep or not. We did do that crossover with Science of Happiness Podcast that talks about wellbeing and listening to bird songs and how the two are…complement each other, and that listening to a podcaster trudge in the snow may or may not…okay, we got more rocks, but I’m on a known path.

 

But now I’m finding myself…I guess this is…it’s not a rocky outcrop. I guess that’s what I was talking about, is seeing rocky outcroppings. I guess you could say this is a rocky outcropping we're on, but it’s only six feet or five feet above the rest of the ground. But I’m just gonna stick to these things, 'cause you just don’t know where there’s a gap in the rocks. Luckily someone went ahead of me. I just gotta keep saying it for myself 'cause otherwise Scoots the adventurer takes over and…so, I gotta keep reminding you so we remind him to not decide to take over; let this person who came before us do the work. You don’t need to totally head out. Let’s see, where are we at? We’re at thirty minutes. 0.8 miles.

 

So, I guess, yeah, we’ll probably…take us a mile, and then we’ll head back in the other direction, because I’ll…right now I…the only…towards…yeah, is turn around and go back the way I came or complete our journey on these rocky outcroppings, 'cause now, below us…well, now I am gonna come off this path a little bit, 'cause I know this is solid ground. I don't know, but I strongly believe it’s solid ground. Yeah, I think there’s a path through this way, right? Yeah, this is a mound. I think that’s the way the guy went. He was just taking a different way. Oh, here’s some…is this dog or deer? Dog. What about this? This looks like squirrel, huh? Yeah, so, we’re up on the rocky outcropping.

 

Not…don't worry, far, far from the…just like something that’s so cool to me…I had no…I remember the first time we came here, and I was talking to my brother about it 'cause he’s like, oh yeah, when me and my friends discovered this, it was like magic, knowing that there was…I don't know. I don't know if anybody can relate. It’s like…maybe I grew up in a small city or a small town. It was like, the few famous people mean so much to you. I guess it’s small city, small-town pride. This is not…even for the city, this is small-neighborhood pride, because it’s like…it’s really…I know there’s…just from going on some other hikes, there’s some pretty cool hikes you can go on in the Central New York area now. Alright, so, I think we will make our way down. Got a couple options.

 

This way the person who was walking their dog went, so…yeah, hearing some…huh. I don't know what that clacking is. Yeah, you can hear the birds. So, now I’m going through a thorn bush area. Thornless right now…or they…'cause they don’t have leaves…much easier to navigate. In the summertime, this would also be impassable. But we're in for a treat. Yeah, we're gonna pass…okay, well, let me focus on where this person went — luckily they went before us — to find our exit point for them and their dog. Oh, we got it. So…but right here, I think we got…that’s a willow tree, huh? I think so. We got a willow tree, and its branches are almost yellow unless it’s having a early budder…buds early and those are all the yellowish-greenish buds.

 

Can see another neighborhood; houses…this limestone or slate quarry or whatever or former quarry — I don't know what it was — continues on. The woods continue on, so, put it on my bucket list, man. I can't do…I guess in the snow, too, I couldn't do many more miles. But I guess I could try to find a way in in the summertime or the springtime. There are a couple ways in; you just gotta go in somebody’s yard. But these woods, I guess, are technically connected to one of the two sets of woods I played in a lot. Now, not…they’ve never…I don't know if they’ve been featured in the podcast. I don't believe they have, versus the woods that have been featured in the podcast, which are a different set of woods from…we just re-released it; pond swimming. Those woods…I did record in there at some point.

 

I don't know if that was a bonus episode or a public episode. That was at least five or six, seven years ago. Then I’ve tried to get access to those woods, but it’s just never worked out, where a couple people my brother knows live…their house is back up against those woods. But either they’ve been too shy or the timing hasn’t worked out. Alright, so, we're still following this person’s dog’s…we're now back looking up at these stone…I don't know if…I think granite’s rounder. I don't think…well, I don't know. These are like flat, angular stones. They're actually a lot higher than I thought. I would say, now that I’m down on the bottom, fifteen feet, twenty feet. Not the kind of thing you can climb. I guess even as a kid we probably did try, but because it’s also very breakable stone…as a parent I’d be like, no, no, don’t climb those.

 

Because it’s the kind of stone that also crumbles. But it looks good, man. Hey, by the way, stone, you look good. You look real good. Some of it’s got moss, and not the green moss; the more reddish, brownish moss. Good looking moss, too. Keep up the great work. Yeah, I just wonder with the walking episode if it’s okay for me to walk and not talk the entire time. Okay, we're at 0.95. We did start heading back. With the intro, that’ll give us a quarter of a mile, too. I guess the distance…it’s the journey, right, not the distance. It’s just, the distance is part of the journey and the journey’s part of the distance. I got my mittens off, and part of me wants to unzip my coat, but I don't know if that’s a great idea, but I am…I guess I got…I’m able to do it for a minute. I have…I’m warm. But it’s cold out.

 

Temperature guess…I’d have to guess it’s in the thirties, or I’d say 28 to 34 degrees. If it’s 20…I mean, doesn't seem like anything’s melting, though. I don't know what freezing is. 32 or something? I would say it’s not freezing, but I’m not sure about that. It definitely has snowed a lot, because our tracks the last time we were here…so, I’m guess…I guess this person that walks their dog has come more than once, because our tracks from the last time we were here are not really visible. They're only faintly visible. Not invisible, but you know what I mean. You know what I’m saying, right? So, I’m trudging. Oh, what is that? There’s a tall tower. Is that a crane? Really tall, too tall to be a cell phone tower. Huh, interesting. Probably is a crane doing some sort of construction.

 

Oh, maybe it’s…I think there’s something going on at the airport, construction there. Okay, now I gotta get my bearings. I think I want to go this way, 'cause our path…is this a dog? I guess maybe this is…no, I guess it’s a dog. Maybe a dog with booties on? Just following these tracks. I think…I don't know. I’m not lost, but I am maybe misdirected as far as which way we came last time. Maybe we came down through there. Don’t exactly have my A game as far as descriptions go, so I guess I gotta keep doing more and more of these, or maybe this is okay. We just walk together. Alright, let’s zip up our coat. We got some wind. Yeah, we're just walking; we're talking. Oh, so, what was I saying? So, yeah, these woods that I was in, I think it connects…I don't think there’s a gap…yeah, there’s no cross street.

 

So, it probably is connected to these woods that I did spend a lot of time in, but they were my secondary woods. One, because you had to be old enough…I had to be old enough to be able to cross the street, 'cause those woods, I would have had to cross the street. You’d have to find access. The main access point would have been this gap between these two houses that had a big field in-between them, and then you could get into those woods. Now, the cool thing was that…I guess I don't…I wish…this is where I do wish I had more facts. Up there in those woods, I think at some point they made it into a development, but there was a bunch of rocks that were placed there. But we're talking giant stones, like for some future use.

 

They were just piled there, and you could kind of explore those because they were giant kind of rocks you use as breakwater or something. But they were there my entire life, just left there. Clearly not natural, though, but maybe they were cleared out when they were clearing…maybe that’s part of the other developments. It’s like, oh, find the big stones; put them in the big stone pile. So, those were cool 'cause you could go in there and get out of the heat, do a lunking of spells. I don't want to get too deep into it, you know? People…everybody’s sleeping. But yeah, the only…the reason those woods…the woods of my youth featured in those podcasts were accessible. Now they're no longer accessible.

 

So, the reason they used to be accessible is we could go from our yard into our neighbor’s yard, which…I don't know when I talked about this, but it was an entire…it wasn’t a thorn maze. They had an entire lot or…I mean, it was not accessible to the street and it wasn’t a backyard, but you're talking fifty by fifty square, hundred by hundred square of entirely wild pricker bushes, the entire thing. The only people that would go in there, 'cause it was…I don't know, it was just one gentleman at the time, but he wasn’t gonna be traipsing around in pricker bushes. It would just be me and my brother and sister. You could go through those pricker bushes and eventually access another person’s…another back forty, you'd call it, and then get into the woods from there.

 

But even the pricker bushes themselves were kinda like a woods, and then they had blackberries. In the blackberry season you could just go back there. So, it was…I guess this was idyllic. That’s why we're talking about it. Yeah, I realize how lucky I was to have woods access, ‘cause I think my daughter, she grew up in a much more urban area. If you wanted woods, you had to go hiking, right? She doesn't have a woods of her youth, which is okay, which is okay. It’s just different strokes for different…different trees for different trees. So, yeah, we're standing up here. We got a view.

 

We got a couple different areas of…you got…you can see two different reservoirs, one that has both a open reservoir and a pump tower or reservoir, a brick one…there’s another area you could go sledding, and then a reservoir closer to that…I guess you'd only go sledding on it if you were visiting people, even though…I mean, it’s like literally a ten-minute drive, five-minute drive, but that’s…was pretty far growing up. You could see…what’s it called? Another hill for Brunet Park, and the zoo’s over there somewhere. Maybe that’s just…that’s a combination of the wind and the road, mostly I think the road’s…road reflecting off the hills. But there’s a little bit of wind. We got really lucky, 'cause I was like, would I be able to…what’s the wind situation? It’s not bad.

 

I wonder what that giant tower is, 'cause it’s not at the airport. I guess it’s a radio tower. It is huge. We're looking in northeast. That is one big tower. I have to ask my brother about that. Oh, I can see…is that right? Is that where I used to work or is that a different apartment building? I can't tell if that’s the two apartment buildings I used to work at. That’d be the right place, heading south out of Syracuse. It could be, or that could be Syracuse University. So, yeah, I guess…let me check our time again. Forty-five minutes. Let me check my thing; I want to make sure we have…I always want to make sure we get a full recording, or as close to it as we can. Okay, breeze is picking up though, so it’s saying, Scoots, gonna have to keep moving whether you like it or not. I don't know, though.

 

I want to get…I guess I could stay on the edge of this woods. It looks like they…moving these…the tree line back a little bit. Some of these younger trees they’ve said goodbye to, but then there’s a lot of older trees…a giant compost pile that I saw when I was location scouting, checking this area out. It was…I mean, it’s like twenty feet high of trees and organic matter. Keep…we’ll keep Frankie out of there. I guess that could be Frankie Part 2, though, 'cause I guess its original leaf-based being friend from our reading of it was only normal-human size or a little bit larger than a normal human. Where, if you got access to this pile of compost, he could make something a hundred, two hundred feet tall. That would be friendly, of course, and helpful.

 

Okay, trying to see…I don't really have…I’m not good at identifying things. Oh, there’s cars going up that hill. I don't know what hill that is. Let’s listen, though, together. So, you can hear the traffic, you can hear me breathing, can hear you winding off. Let’s just end this episode listening together and me commenting a little bit. Here’s some more birds and stuff. I see two birds flying. They're not making a sound. There’s another one. There we go, a strong caw. Strong caw game. Then, you just heard that little tweet. This is nice, huh? Solitary together…more birds moving, the loud muffler-less vehicle. It’s more kinda tweeting, barking. I always feel like chipmunks bark. Night-type noise…and, oh, there’s some wind passing through some branches and stuff.

 

I don’t know, it’s like, if you can feel it, it’s like a slight chill breeze. Not bad. You can hear it there. It’s like…those are leaves that are still on the tree that are leaves that are shriveled but they're still stuck to the tree on the branch, like banging up against the branch. They're doing it for us. That’s cool. Thank you, thank you leaves. Yeah, I think this is a nice way to end it. Thanks for listening. I hope this helped you out or put you at ease. I really appreciate you listening to the show, and thanks for coming with me on a little walk. Goodnight.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)

On Location / Walk With Me

 

“Walkin’ In A Winter Wonderland” song

https://www.debisimons.com/walking-in-a-winter-wonderland-story-behind-the-words/

https://www.familytree.com/blog/the-story-behind-winter-wonderland/

https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-winter-wonderland/

 

History of thermal underwear

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/a-short-history-of-long-johns/

https://www.hotchillys.com/blogs/news/the-creation-history-of-thermal-clothing?srsltid=AfmBOoob0tPGifrc03FvemoxbrCrHa-Ie8D00rEuwwHIjRueU2zKmx7X

https://www.heddels.com/2019/09/winter-undie-land-brief-history-long-underwear/

 

History of snow shoes

https://northernlites.com/blogs/northern-lites-blog/the-history-of-snowshoes?srsltid=AfmBOopWDRoUyiyp9Y791QhtDgSCw_TuayxkqJ1_NZsph4UBi2VuLEMp

https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/184/

https://www.snowshoemag.com/snowshoe-history/

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/seasonal-affective-disorder

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/seasonal-affective-disorder-more

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

I’m here to put you to sleep and take you for a walk

I’m gonna walk in the slow and just talk

You don’t have to do any walking if you don’t want to

I’m not great at facts, but I’m good at talking

Wow, a beautiful bird is flying by

Gorgeous Powerful Birds

 

PLUGS

Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

 

SPONSORS

Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Anker Soundcore; Acorns; Marley Spoon

 

INTRO

Walk With Me edition

Creating a Snafe, Snoozy Place

Relieving whatever might be keeping you up

Oh, why do I make the show

You could feel like part of the community if you want to 

People are rooting for you right now

Passively rooting for people

Someone out there can relate to how you feel

Struggling to describe simple things

Almost passive listening

I’m not a sleep guru, no way

A winter walk

It was wonderful in this winter wonderland

Thanks for coming

We’re always trying to experiment with new styles

I never stop trying

 

STORY

Maybe I’ll release in the summer (or maybe the winter)

It’s cold but not freezing cold

I’m in central New York

My first NY winter since my daughter was born

Doing a little winter walk

I’ll keep an eye on the distance

How many trees make up a copse of trees?

How far are those trees from me?

Who are you calling a copse, bub?

I’ll be walking up that tree

I’ll call you a grove, no prob

An outfit rundown

Underwear that’s long and maybe thermal

Following some rabbit prints right now

The sleepy rhythm of Scoots lumbering through the snow

Walking through a maybe-copse of trees

Crossing across some snowy fields

This area is close to my childhood home

We’d come sledding here as kids

No one is here sledding today, though

Oh, I do remember my daughter sledding here once

I’ve been here maybe 3 times in my life

I’d come here to cross-country ski sometimes

It’s perfect for imagination play

My specialty was solo imagination play

I’ve never worn snowshoes before

I wonder what that would be like

BTW, this is recorded in binaural audio

Keeping a rolling count of squirrel and bird nests

I went into these woods earlier to location scout

Counting nests

A couple important observations on this trip

Wow, a lone Canada goose!

It’s been a while since there’s been this much snow

I’m evaluating where I’m gonna live

I might be living in central NY by the time you hear this

My daughter is figuring out where she’s gonna go to school

And I might leave the Bay Area

The snow depths for my right and left leg are different

I’m not a sunbather, but I do like the sunshine

It’s a gray day, but there’s blue sky so maybe I could be exposed to this kind of sunlight

I heard a squirrel peep

I’m up on a hill and I can see quite a bit of central New York

I’m pretty sure I can see the Tug Hill Plateau

I’ve always wanted to be better at knowing facts

Maybe you can see Lake Teri from here

Wintery Teri is so powerful

There were snow mounds on the lake

Waves smashing up against the snow mounds

I’d probably have to take a break with Teri during the winter if we were in a relationship

Cawing birds overhead

Heading into the woods

These weren’t my main woods as a kid

You had to go through a golf course to access these woods in the spring and summer

I’d only come to these woods in the winter

Little canyons made up of flat stones

Maybe shale

My version of Yosemite

This environment could really inspire your storytelling

Some quality moss here

Small Rock Living

Okay, I’m gonna go back here and follow someone else’s path

Following someone who was walking their dog

If you’re sledding, you don’t have time to walk through the woods, too

You could add imagination to sledding, but there’s already built-in excitement

To my right in the distance is an apartment complex

Woods and golf course are to my left

I lost the human path but now I’m following the dog path

Definitely deer out here somewhere

Okay, here’s some boot marks I can follow

Oh, this person looped back so that won’t help us

I’m gonna stick to the known path

More cawing action

Are those crows or ravens?

I wonder if these crow sounds will soothe you

Is this a rocky outcrop?

If I’m not careful, Adventure Scoots will take over

I strongly believe in solid ground

Is this dog or deer?

My brother said it felt like magic when he discovered this area as a kid?

Small Neighborhood Pride

Okay, we’re gonna make our way down now

Huh, what’s that clapping?

Now I’m going through a thornbush area

I couldn’t get through here in the summertime

Wow, look at that willow tree

Maybe it’s budding early

Another neighborhood of houses

Is that another quarry?

Put it on my bucket list, man

Maybe I’ll come back not in the winter

These woods are technically connected to the woods of my youth

Flat Angular Stones

Wow, these are taller than I thought

These are very breakable stones

I wouldn’t want my kid climbing this now

Stone, you look good, bud

Reddish, Brownish Moss

Is it okay for me to not talk right now?

The distance is part of the journey and the journey is part of the distance

I’m tempted to unzip my coat

Temperature Guess: 28 to 34 degrees

It must have snowed because our old tracks are faintly visible now

I’m trudging

What’s that tall tower?

Maybe it’s building at the airport

Is that dog prints or deer prints?

Dog with booty prints

I’m not lost but I’m maybe misdirected

I don’t have my description A game right now

Okay, time to zip up the coat

It’s probably connected to the woods of my youth

Finding the access point

The gap between two houses was the main entry

There were giant rocks at the entry point

Put those big stones in the big stone pile

Do some lunking of spells

The woods of my youth are no longer accessible

As a kid, my neighbor had a big yard of pricker bushes

It was only me and my siblings that would go through there to get into the woods

The pricker bushes themselves were like the woods in their own way

I was lucky to have woods access

I guess it was idyllic

My daughter didn’t have a woods of her youth, which is fine

Okay, now I see 2 different reservoirs

Burnett Park and the Zoo are over there, somewhere

Wind and road noises

We got really lucky with the wind situation

Man, that is one big mysterious tower

Over there might be the apartment complex I used to work at

Or maybe it’s the university

It looks like they’re moving the treeline back

I saw a giant compost pile

Frankie would make a huge leaf-based being out of that pile

I’m not good at identifying things

I don’t know what that hill is

Let’s listen together now

Traffic

My breath

I see 2 birds flying

A strong caw just for us

Solitary Together

Do chipmunks bark?

Leaves battering against a tree just for us

Thank you, leaves

Thanks for listening

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1338

Title: Wondering in a Winter Walking Land | Walk With Me

Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Anker Soundcore; Acorns; Marley Spoon

Notable Language:

• Gorgeous Powerful Birds
• Snafe, Snoozy Place
• Passively rooting for people
• Copse
• Snow Walking
• Cawing birds overhead
• Maybe shale
• Quality Moss
• Small Rock Living
• More cawing action
• Rocky Outcrop
• Small Neighborhood Pride
• Flat Angular Stones
• Reddish, Brownish Moss
• Trudging
• Lunking of Spells
• Leaf-Based Being
• Strong Caw Game

 

Notable Culture:

• • “Walkin’ In A Winter Wonderland” song
  • Tug Hill Plateau
  • Syracuse University
  • Lake Ontario
  • Yosemite

• Science of Happiness

• Frank

• Frankenstein

 

Notable Talking Points:

• Walk With Me edition
• Creating a Snafe, Snoozy Place
• Relieving whatever might be keeping you up
• Oh, why do I make the show
• You could feel like part of the community if you want to 
• People are rooting for you right now
• Passively rooting for people
• Someone out there can relate to how you feel
• Struggling to describe simple things
• Almost passive listening
• I’m not a sleep guru, no way
• A winter walk
• It was wonderful in this winter wonderland
• Thanks for coming
• We’re always trying to experiment with new styles
• I never stop trying
• Maybe I’ll release in the summer (or maybe the winter)
• It’s cold but not freezing cold
• I’m in central New York
• My first NY winter since my daughter was born
• Doing a little winter walk
• I’ll keep an eye on the distance
• How many trees make up a copse of trees?
• How far are those trees from me?
• Who are you calling a copse, bub?
• I’ll be walking up that tree
• I’ll call you a grove, no prob
• An outfit rundown
• Underwear that’s long and maybe thermal
• Following some rabbit prints right now
• The sleepy rhythm of Scoots lumbering through the snow
• Walking through a maybe-copse of trees
• Crossing across some snowy fields
• This area is close to my childhood home
• We’d come sledding here as kids
• No one is here sledding today, though
• Oh, I do remember my daughter sledding here once
• I’ve been here maybe 3 times in my life
• I’d come here to cross-country ski sometimes
• It’s perfect for imagination play
• My specialty was solo imagination play
• I’ve never worn snowshoes before
• I wonder what that would be like
• BTW, this is recorded in binaural audio
• Keeping a rolling count of squirrel and bird nests
• I went into these woods earlier to location scout
• Counting nests
• A couple important observations on this trip
• Wow, a lone Canada goose!
• It’s been a while since there’s been this much snow
• I’m evaluating where I’m gonna live
• I might be living in central NY by the time you hear this
• My daughter is figuring out where she’s gonna go to school
• And I might leave the Bay Area
• The snow depths for my right and left leg are different
• I’m not a sunbather, but I do like the sunshine
• It’s a gray day, but there’s blue sky so maybe I could be exposed to this kind of sunlight
• I heard a squirrel peep
• I’m up on a hill and I can see quite a bit of central New York
• I’m pretty sure I can see the Tug Hill Plateau
• I’ve always wanted to be better at knowing facts
• Maybe you can see Lake Teri from here
• Wintery Teri is so powerful
• There were snow mounds on the lake
• Waves smashing up against the snow mounds
• I’d probably have to take a break with Teri during the winter if we were in a relationship
• Cawing birds overhead
• Heading into the woods
• These weren’t my main woods as a kid
• You had to go through a golf course to access these woods in the spring and summer
• I’d only come to these woods in the winter
• Little canyons made up of flat stones
• Maybe shale
• My version of Yosemite
• This environment could really inspire your storytelling
• Some quality moss here
• Small Rock Living
• Okay, I’m gonna go back here and follow someone else’s path
• Following someone who was walking their dog
• If you’re sledding, you don’t have time to walk through the woods, too
• You could add imagination to sledding, but there’s already built-in excitement
• To my right in the distance is an apartment complex
• Woods and golf course are to my left
• I lost the human path but now I’m following the dog path
• Definitely deer out here somewhere
• Okay, here’s some boot marks I can follow
• Oh, this person looped back so that won’t help us
• I’m gonna stick to the known path
• More cawing action
• Are those crows or ravens?
• I wonder if these crow sounds will soothe you
• Is this a rocky outcrop?
• If I’m not careful, Adventure Scoots will take over
• I strongly believe in solid ground
• Is this dog or deer?
• My brother said it felt like magic when he discovered this area as a kid?
• Small Neighborhood Pride
• Okay, we’re gonna make our way down now
• Huh, what’s that clapping?
• Now I’m going through a thornbush area
• I couldn’t get through here in the summertime
• Wow, look at that willow tree
• Maybe it’s budding early
• Another neighborhood of houses
• Is that another quarry?
• Put it on my bucket list, man
• Maybe I’ll come back not in the winter
• These woods are technically connected to the woods of my youth
• Flat Angular Stones
• Wow, these are taller than I thought
• These are very breakable stones
• I wouldn’t want my kid climbing this now
• Stone, you look good, bud
• Reddish, Brownish Moss
• Is it okay for me to not talk right now?
• The distance is part of the journey and the journey is part of the distance
• I’m tempted to unzip my coat
• Temperature Guess: 28 to 34 degrees
• It must have snowed because our old tracks are faintly visible now
• I’m trudging
• What’s that tall tower?
• Maybe it’s building at the airport
• Is that dog prints or deer prints?
• Dog with booty prints
• I’m not lost but I’m maybe misdirected
• I don’t have my description A game right now
• Okay, time to zip up the coat
• It’s probably connected to the woods of my youth
• Finding the access point
• The gap between two houses was the main entry
• There were giant rocks at the entry point
• Put those big stones in the big stone pile
• Do some lunking of spells
• The woods of my youth are no longer accessible
• As a kid, my neighbor had a big yard of pricker bushes
• It was only me and my siblings that would go through there to get into the woods
• The pricker bushes themselves were like the woods in their own way
• I was lucky to have woods access
• I guess it was idyllic
• My daughter didn’t have a woods of her youth, which is fine
• Okay, now I see 2 different reservoirs
• Burnett Park and the Zoo are over there, somewhere
• Wind and road noises
• We got really lucky with the wind situation
• Man, that is one big mysterious tower
• Over there might be the apartment complex I used to work at
• Or maybe it’s the university
• It looks like they’re moving the treeline back
• I saw a giant compost pile
• Frankie would make a huge leaf-based being out of that pile
• I’m not good at identifying things
• I don’t know what that hill is
• Let’s listen together now
• Traffic
• My breath
• I see 2 birds flying
• A strong caw just for us
• Solitary Together
• Do chipmunks bark?
• Leaves battering against a tree just for us
• Thank you, leaves
• Thanks for listening