The Winter Road
The last remnants of winter blew into the small enclave where Natalie has lived her entire life. The winters have grown long and tough for her and the people nestled in this small burg. Self-described luddittes, they have completely shunned all forms of technology.
Niceties like snowplows would make a job as we see here easy to accomplish in several minutes. Most people don't realize they finished the same job using a horse and plow and it only took a few more minutes. Instead of snowblowers they use shovels.
While the workload is increased it's not overwhelming. Everything takes longer to do but a sense of pride and accomplishment is instilled in all their actions.
Natalie strolls along down this freshly, hand plowed road and starts to think about her place in the town and the world. This type of imagery, a path leading into the beyond evokes all sorts of feelings deep within her. She's seen the outsiders talk about how things seem odd when they're passing through town. Natalie has never noticed and in fact they seem odd to her. She is content with where she is both spiritually and emotionally, all she needs right now is to get to her destination.
These long walks this time of year are enlightening but cold!