Cold man!

A Cold Walk Earl Plato

Three thoughts on a cold walk in Marcy Woods. Snow is still heavy on the trails. I hadn’t been in Marcy Woods for over a month. Ed Teale, late nature writer from New England, gave me the idea of sharing three thoughts. Not his but mine.
(1) On a return to old familiar scenes at Marcy Woods it is remarkable how remembered trees step forward to meet you. On the Lower Trail of Marcy Woods I first meet the two towering Norway spruce at the beginning of the road leading into Marcy Woods. It was here that we saw a Flying squirrel launch itself from the top of one spruce to the other. Memorable.
Next at the actual beginning of the Lower Trail was the towering hemlock with a anomaly growing high up on a branch. This is where the “Witch’s Broom” is still growing.
Down the winding hilly trail we ramble. On our left are the Twin Black Oaks. This is where daughter Allison and I waited patiently for the appearance of the giant Pileated woodpecker.
Turning south on the trail we came to one of my favourite trees, the towering Tulip tree. I usually touch it as a symbol of well wishing for this old but healthy Carolinian tree. Just a few first tree thoughts.
(2) Shades of September 11, 2001. Will things ever be the same? The following was written when I was just a youth by English historian G.M. Trevelyan. “Two things are characteristic of this age.The conscious appreciation of natural beauty and the rapidity with which natural beauty is being destroyed.” Here in 2002 both characteristics have been accentuated. Man may end the world by trying to unravel most of the secrets of nature about the time he has succeeded in destroying nature. With the nuclear bomb ever present, anthrax, chemical weapons and along with who knows what other forms of mass destruction it means to me this time in our earthly history that man is not quite sure of the world’s future.
My faith lies in the power of an omniscient God. Yes, I refuse to give up on protecting our environment. “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid,” Psalm 56:11 To become obsessed with the eventual end of the earth I won’t waste my time worrying. It’s not in my hands.
(3) I love traveling. I believe that I find some enjoyment in every place I have visited or even revisited. When the late nature writer, Ed Teale, and his wife visited the northern tip of Scotland at John O’Groats, he was told how uninteresting he would find the landscape. Ed found it most fascinating and wrote about it more than once. My late father-in-law, Sid Kew, told me how he and his wife, Edna, enjoyed the trip up to that same Scottish tip. We never made it that far north but my wife loved the rugged Highlands of Scotland and Loch Ness area. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, eh. All kinds of country settings have their personal charms. “When the out-of-doors becomes boring it is due not to lack of interest inherent in the place but to a lack of recognition in the beholder.” Life is great and the natural settings are great. Enjoy the great outdoors in 2008! Don’t waste time worrying, eh.