Friday I went cross country skiing for about an hour on a local golf course. The snow tells many stories. A fox had trotted across the field, straight and sure, not meandering along like a dog. I imagined her route and the destination. Maybe she was looking for dinner. In another spot, I saw the last moment of a rabbit frozen in the snow. There was a small depression where the snow had melted from his body heat. Fur lay embedded in the snow- soft and brown. A hawk must have made off with the dear creature because there were no tracks nearby. A moment caught in the open - one creature's life sails away to become another. So much of nature plays out just beyond our view. We need to look and look again. We need to listen to the stories hidden in the snow. Then we can begin to understand so much. Take a moment to take a look. Share it here in the comments. ...
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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 ...
Yesterday I hiked with the Adirondack Mountain Club at Moreau State Park. The week had been so warm and so much of the lovely snow had succumbed to rain and 50-degree temperatures. But Friday temps put us back into the ice age, so there was ice everywhere! Thank God for microspikes! This seems to be the new normal - swings in temperature. For me, it is so hard not to have winter - yes, winter - for a few blessed months. The quiet, the snow sculpting landscapes, the ice creating filagree along streams, the deep peace. Yes, winter is my season. My heart feels at home in the white beauty and solitude. Winter is a mystic devoted to entering deeply the mysteries hidden in snow and ice. So my winter heart must make peace with a climate that will not sustain cold and snow. I try to think about people who are suffering from climate change now - drought, crop failure, food and water shortages. I still can get what I need in terms of physical necessities. But how will my winter soul find...
We are in the iron grasp of Winter with frigid temperatures, ice, and snow! This time has meant terrible hardships for so many especially folks in the mid-West. In our area, the cold has made life difficult especially for those in poor neighborhoods who have to walk many places. Sidewalks aren't cleared properly, or at all! They have to push carts and baby carriages through the mess. Homeless folks are forced into shelters, which are a blessing and curse at the same time. Bad weather falls on the poorest with a greater burden. I feel the effects of my privilege: a warm house, warm clothes, substantial food, a car to take me where I need to go. I am grateful for all these things. But I struggle with the knowledge that so many suffer in adverse weather. Weather is not climate change, I realize that. But these extreme weather events have been connected to global warming. The polar vortex is the cause of the cold, but how is that related to climate change? Check out the article at h...
Yesterday I volunteered for a Raptor Survey at 5 Rivers in Delmar. I love raptors - they are so elegant. They are such amazing hunters. I feel an energy, a connection from them. We began the survey at 4:10 pm - an hour before sunset. So there we were - three humans combing the cloudy sky and brown landscape for raptors. A harrier came into view. A male with white underside and black wing tips. He dipped and climbed and rolled in the ferocious wind. A game- like surfing the wind. He flew off. The hour crawled by. The wind was cutting. It was cold. I asked myself, "Why did I do this?" Four deer ambled nearby. They browsed and walked about, seemingly untroubled by the wind and cold. I laughed. There they were - no fleece or wool or Thinsulate or heavy boots. They enjoy a clever coat that traps air, warmed by their bodies and keeps them toasty. Why do we go out to count raptors on days like this? Surveys report numbers and numbers help conservationists to allocate resources t...
I haven't posted in a long while. I guess I was feeling that no one looked at the posts so why bother. But I realized that our Earth doesn't behave that way. Every day she pours forth beauty, resources, life and is very often taken for granted. So in the beginning of this new year, I would like to begin again to share my encounters with Earth. I hope if you are reading this, you will share an encounter of your own! beads of sunlight frozen along the branches of a small tree. water droplets lighting sparkling shimmering like winter fireflies. (5 Rivers 12/1/18)
Barton High Cliffs Sunday I hiked into the Barton High Cliffs with the ADK. This was a bushwack - no trails, no markers. We made our way with compass, GPS and the instinct of people who had been here before and knew the woods. The woods was snow covered. Ice filagreed the streams. Icicles hung in muted blue and jade from rocks. Great fingers of ice stretched down from the cliffs. Winter still had her way here and I was grateful for her presence. The view from the top of the cliffs is expansive and treacherous. Getting too near the edge risks rocks giving way from beneath my feet. Peeking through the trees, holding tightly to a pitch pine seemed safe enough. A raven called and soared unafraid of the height and edge. He dove and climbed and mastered the windy heights. We enjoyed the views and the drama of the cliffs and made our way down into the gulf below. The descent was tricky. Snow and beech leaves made the going slick. Butt slides teach humility and caution. Besides t...