Thursday, March 15, 2012

Winter Wonderland & An Emerging Spring Mix it Up

Simon and I headed out for one of our favorite winter walking loops which includes short hikes through the forest, walking along carriage paths and along closed park roads.

We had a dusting of snow last evening and the paths were a little bit slick- suppose it was good not to go running :tears:
As Simon and I started our walk the sun came out and the forest was sparkling with the fresh snow. It was a soft snow and so our footsteps were muffled as we hiked along in peace together. We followed the tracks of a fox for quite some time before parting ways. At one point I heard a Raven calling out and Simon immediately stopped in his tracks. He has a fascination with Ravens and when he hears one he will look about in the sky for it and follow its path across the sky. I, in turn, am fascinated by his fascination with this bird and this bird in particular. Native Americans have legends about the relationships between Wolves and Ravens and interesting behaviors have been observed by wolves interacting with Ravens- Jim & Jamie Dutcher write about it in their wonderful book: Wolves at Our Door : The Extraordinary Story of the Couple Who Lived with Wolves But I digress....

As we began our walk back to the car we were treated by two bald eagles, one an adult and one immature, soaring over our heads and then along the cliffs beside us. There was some interaction between the two and we could hear the distinctive screech from one of them. Back at the car, then home and now typing away I am left with the image and sounds of incredible beauty- an image that should get me nicely through the rest of my day.