Wednesday Walk. Winter twilight in the park

It had been snowing all day yesterday, and I thought it would be a great idea to go for a walk in the park in the morning. But it was snowing again this morning, and the wool plaid was so soft and cozy... A lot of urgent activities immediately came up at home, but I still made the effort of will, dressed warmer, and went outside.

The sidewalk was covered with a perfectly clean, fluffy white carpet of snow. With each step my foot buried itself in this carpet by a few inches. How is it that this light, almost weightless snow makes it difficult to walk, just as if I had a cast-iron weight tied to each foot? By the time I reached the bus stop, my resolve to walk to the park had all but evaporated. I cowardly remembered the cozy chair and the warm plaid.

Perhaps my walk here would have ended - if I had had to stand at the bus stop and wait for the bus and think about it all. But the bus came at once, giving me no time to think or doubt. I consoled myself with the thought that if I didn't like it, I could walk around the nearby alleys for a while and ride back out, and I stepped resolutely onto the bus.

By the time I reached the park, the winter day was almost over, the gray daylight had been replaced by lilac twilight. On top of that, the wind had died down and it had stopped snowing. I stepped onto the perfectly scrubbed, flat, and smooth walkway and stepped into a winter fairy tale. The fact that I was only going to walk for a little while, I remembered only a couple of hours later.

I had chosen Primorsky Victory Park on Krestovsky Island to walk that day. It is a large park that is relatively easy to get to by public transportation. This park has some very picturesque alleys and pretty park sculptures. I entered the park through a side gate, and after passing a small greenhouse and a biology lab building, I headed toward the central alley.

It was still bright enough at the beginning of my walk, but the farther it got, the more blue the twilight became, and eventually my smartphone stopped recognizing all colors except blue. I wasn't worried about darkness; I remembered that there were streetlights along the central alley of the park. I wasn't afraid of ending up in a situation where I'd have to find my way back, using my smartphone as a flashlight.

Near the fountain I met a cute snowplow. Thanks to this humble workman, I was so happy to walk along the paths of the park instead of drowning in the snow, struggling to move my feet.

The park ponds are frozen over, but on Swan Pond a small section remains free of ice captivity. In the gathering dusk, the swans on the opposite shore are almost invisible - but they are there, take my word for it!

In the western part of the park is a large stadium, and somehow, unnoticed by the city residents, the area around the stadium was built up with supporting infrastructure, which made walking in the far part of the park, which overlooks the bay, much less pleasant. I decided to walk along the Rowing Canal for a while, but I couldn't get back into the park for a long time - there was a continuous fence to the left. Because of that I took so many photos of this particular promenade:)

At some point I began to wonder if I wouldn't end up at a dead end, and if it wouldn't be wiser to turn back. But every now and then runners overtook me, and none of them went back the same way. At the end of the embankment, there was indeed a small passageway in that fence, and I was able to return to the park alleys.

This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.