Winter Walk

Winter Walk Earl Plato

I am waiting for a good thaw! By the time this article is printed maybe we will have had one. So let’s think about that possibility now in the middle of winter. Nature writer, Ed Teale, did and we share some of his observations and mine now. The Thaw. More of the wonderful same! More of mild air, more of the warm sunshine, more gentle winds from the southwest. More hours filled with the healing balm of a mid-winter respite. For a third day the thaw continues. We head out to the Point Abino trails. The drifts have melted some, making walking easier. Walkers and cross country skiers have been there ahead of us. The melting has obscured most of their marks, however, to our right and left, squirrels, chipmunks, and mice still reveal their particular foot prints. The year 2,005 will hold much nature-wise. All the wild creatures are responding, as we are responding to this taste of spring in winter. We watch a gray squirrel uncovering hidden nuts on the sun filled north slope. The tappings of the downy woodpeckers surrounds us. They hammer on the dry, resounding limbs. We listen attentively for that great hammering sound of the Pileated woodpeckers. Not on this beautiful day. A flock of birds land behind us. They have come from the wetland area to the northwest near Marcy Woods. Glasses up. There is a red band on the shoulders. Red-winged blackbirds? I think so. Spring can not be far away! When things get to be overwhelming take a winter “thaw.” Take a few days to see this old world and its accompanying natural wonders in a little different light. A walk in the great outdoors is one way to dispel the winter “blahs.”
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An e-mail this February from Trudy Winters re: Bald Eagle. “Just wanted you to know that we saw a beautiful Bald eagle during our walk yesterday. We had walked along the shoreline from the end of Thunder Bay Road to just past Buffalo Road (on Lake Erie shore). He was in the tree tops just as we got to the point. ... I sure wish I had my camera with me, maybe next time.” Writer’s Note: I walk this location and yes, Judy, too often, I forget my camera.