Time

Time stops for no one

The year closes like a gate behind me,
its rusted hinges shrieking the last of their weight.

Ahead, a path of frost begins to shimmer,
each step melting a small circle of dawn.

Hope timidly rises there,
partly lifting a burden I’d been carrying,
the sky grows brighter with each step towards the sunrise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I realize that I cannot stay in the past and hover there. However I will also hold tight to each and every memory I possibly can. My heart demands it.

Charlie and I decided to brave the twisted sand/salt/slush/ and ice caked roads to go out to Duck Egg and blow off a week's worth of misery and illness.

Charlie knows the drill, he bounds away to look back at me as if to say "Ma, we have the whole place to ourselves." His eyes sparkle and he bounces as he runs. 

He runs up to the water crossing and leaps over it. 

[this is not supposed to be on the trail, but it seems the Springville creek had some help with water rerouting from some beavers]

The sky is gun metal grey, the winds are blowing on the ridge and all I hear is the water rushing under the footbridge ahead. Charlie waits on the bridge.

His joy is infectious.

The world drops away as the dog and I explore. He stuffs his head into clumps of grass and from the tail action, I can tell he is hunting vicious voles or mice.

His look tells me that IF he were not there to protect me, I'd be overrun by voles of the most frightening kind.

And this is how our quiet walk in the steep valley proceeds. My dog and protector saving me with every action he takes. [4 seconds]

He makes sure that every footbridge is safe for his lady. He surveys that area to make sure there are no giant Voles or Mice lying in wait.

This is his duty and he takes it seriously. 

We arrive at the ponds and marvel at the winter world of Duck Egg. We listen to the Springville creek roar behind us and rain begins to fall.

We've gone a mile on a rather flat trail and I motion that it is time to turn around. We hike back and I realize that I am not out of breath, and I feel good. The dry hack still shows up. But. But.

We are back.

When I get to the car and plop Charlie in his car seat he curls up his wet body on his blanket.

Before I pull out of the parking area, I realize that I've missed Charlie's birthday. My little champion is beginning his 8th year of exploration with me.

I'm grateful. 

Here is to more wonderous adventures with my finest sidekick.

Outside Exploring

Yes, I did get out for a bit even though it was cloudy with a mix of drizzle and rain. I walked along the creek bottom to see what I could find. I like to observe how things change and what is going on in the woods.

There is a pool that is about knee deep or so next to a rock wall. During the summer it was nearly dry, but with some of the rain and moisture we've had, it appears to have more water in it!

I was so happy to see the little trout swimming around.

I love to just sit and watch them. If they notice you, they flee to a darker shaded area of the little water hole. So I waited a few minutes and then they came back out and began to swim around. 15 second video.

I found the partially fresh carcass of a deer. It was mostly bones but there was enough color in the bones to indicate that it had only been there a couple of days. 

The birds were happily cleaning what they could off the bones.

I climbed out of the creek bottom and made my way along an old deer trail when I spotted a old birch log in the wet snow. I recall reading somewhere that one could start a fire in the woods even with wet birch.

I had some time so I decided to try that theory out. 
I picked birch bark off the log and made it into strips than piled it in the snow on another log.

I had a lighter in my bag, so I thought I'd try making a tiny fire.

Imagine my surprise when it worked! I watched the little fire catch and burn and then stomped on it. There was no danger of it spreading anywhere. However, now I knew if I could find birch [which is common in this area], I could always build a fire if I needed to.

This was my New Year's Eve day adventure. I had about an hour or so to use up and so I hiked through our woods and enjoyed fresh air.

I hope to start out the New Year once more Exploring. After all, I love that the best.