Encountering Earth

A few weeks ago I went on a full moon hike at 5 Rivers in Delmar. As the night got cloudy, I got a peek at the moon driving over there. I was early so I sat in the car contented to have missed some of the crazier traffic. About 15 minutes before the center opened it started to rain. First a sweet, gentle spritzing then a downpour. I laughed, well Mother Nature is canceling this hike! The center opened and the naturalist was enthusiastic and hopeful that the rain would stop or at least let-up and we could proceed.  Actually, it did! Twelve excited humans went out into the night to experience the mystery of the woods in the dark. Owls had been heard and beaver seen on the previous night in the full splendor of the moon. Would we be so fortunate on a cloudy night? The incredible thing about being out in the dark is that our eyes really do adjust and things begin to come out of the shadows!The r ods in our eyes do not reach their maximum sensitivity for about half an hour. But ...

It has been too long since I posted. The weeks passed and surprised me - it has been well over a month!  Winter has waned and then returned with a vengeance. Icy trails and mud replaced a snowy path for skiing. At Grafton a few weeks ago the trails were a mix of dirt and ice. Microspikes are a blessing! As I made my way around Long Pond, the pond spoke in cracks and groans. At times it sounded like the rumblings of an empty stomach. I imagined a water- being under the ice, groaning for the coming of spring, moaning to be released from the prison of ice.  The ice on Shaver Pond was still 8 inches deep. I walked the length of the pond and talked to the ice fishermen who were squeaking out one last day before the ice would be unsafe. A perch and pickerel had been the catch of the day. Even though I like eating fish, I always feel bad for them as they are jerked out of their homes into a world where they can't breathe. The sufferings of other species often go unnoticed as w...