A few weeks ago I took a hike at the Vischer Ferry Preserve. It was a grey day as much of January has been. I wondered if I could really see any birds since the light would not be very good, but I forged ahead. There is always something to experience in nature! I felt enveloped in a monochromatic gray. The sky was a veil of silvery clouds that reached down through the trees to the ground. Trees were etched in hues of washed-out black with brown shadows. The limbs and branches of each species sketching delicate traces or thick, dark lines across the clouds. The canal and march were frozen and the ice continued the pearly tones - white-streaked only in small places. I felt that I was lost in a Japanese watercolor! As I walked I looked more deeply and carefully. Grey was not the only color here! Muskrats had kept the water at the edge of the marsh open and brown reeds and loosestrife stood out there in the black water. The reeds towered tall and tan and rustled a song in the wind. Little
Spring has slid into summer. The leaves on the trees are full and green and giving shade. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that I took a hike to Strawberry Fields over near Amsterdam. This lovely preserve is "managed" by the Mohawk/Hudson Land Conservancy. If you are local check them out; there is a preserve for everyone! As I hiked the two-mile perimeter trail, I noticed how the trees were at all different stages of leafing. Some Maples, eager to get going, were in full leaf. Magnificent in their reaching. The Oaks were a bit reticent. They usually are - the last ones to lose leaves - hanging onto them into the Winter and early Spring; they are shy about Spring budding. Delicate amber leaves are mixed with the sepia catkins that will blossom into acorns. Standing back, looking up I was enthralled with the many shades of bronze the tree produced. There were Shagbark Hickories who were not having any of the coming-out thing! Large buds remained sealed tight. Apples w
February 12 marked the 14th anniversary of the death of Sr. Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN, a woman who was martyred standing up for the indigenous people of the Amazon. Sr. Dorothy Stang, a martyr for the Amazon, can inspire us to pay more attention to the beauty of creation, to stand in solidarity with other communities, and to never forget to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Sr. Dorothy had a great love for creation. She once wrote, “ I’m trying daily to fill my lungs with the beauty of our cosmos - her energy - so all that is to be woman can be felt in me.” (This was taken from the Global Catholic Climate Movement's Laudato Si Circle Reflection for February. Visit https://catholicclimatemovement.global/ ) http://www.notredameonline.org/resources/sister-dorothy-stang/ Sister Dorothy lived in the rainforest for 30 years. She relished the beauty of the place and the people. She stood up for their rights. We are needed to protect our Earth where we are in wha
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