Chilly outside today but no wind at all, so stepping outside is like entering a really large walk-in refrigerator. Temps were a little warmer on Saturday, when I used Google Maps to scout out someplace to walk. Someplace neither near nor far, and new. I have my standards.

By mid-afternoon, we were at Beaver Pond, a unit of the Bartlett Park District.

About a mile around and flat.

Good spot for an easy walk. The trail doesn’t actually dip into the pond, as on the map. I think that’s where a small fishing platform juts into the water, accessible by the trail.

“Water collects here from a 1.5 sq. mile area of streets, residential properties and undeveloped areas,” says the only sign along the trail. So the place might be named for river-dwelling rodents — none of whom were in evidence on Saturday — but it’s really a detention pond.

Still, a nice trail. Sports spots of grassland.

Houses ring the park, with non-marked lot lines, though I’m sure the property owners and park district know where they are. Some homeowners decorated their patch for Christmas. Such as with an epic-sized snowman.

Sure, top hats are the custom among the snowfolk. But wouldn’t it be interesting to see a snowman wearing something else occasionally? Bowlers can have as much magic in them as top hots, Frosty.

Santa says, Ho ho ho. What, I wonder, do snowmen say for the holidays? Nothing. Climate change got ’em.