The Suffield Observer (https://thesuffieldobserver.com/author/abby-wolcott/)
As we hit the trails this time of year, we may have to dig deeper to find the beauty around us. Heavy snow has yet to fly, the songbirds with their lovely plumage and melodic songs have headed south, the leaves have fallen, and the woods are mostly quiet and still.
Out on the trail this fall, we have been hankering to see some rodents. After much searching, my local favorite, the beaver, graced us with his presence.
It’s time to say goodbye to our smallest migratory bird, the ruby throated hummingbird, as they set off for their winter feeding grounds in the tropics.
Back when our kids were still in our clutches, any road trip usually was centered around wildlife. We’d head off in search of birds with more spectacular plumage, reptiles not found in our back forty and mammals more elusive than the grey squirrels.
My Samsonite suitcase is still stashed under the guest room bed as it has been since the days in March when we were told in no uncertain terms to stay home.
As spring morphed into summer, I continued feeding the birds long past my usual time. Let’s face it, it had been an endless stretch on house arrest, and I was hanging on to the birds as a way to elevate my spirits.
Memorization and recitation were kind of a thing back in the day. I recall having committed The Gettysburg Address to memory and The Lion and Albert, among other things.
There are many things in nature that are fleeting: the monosyllabic call of the woodcock, the chorus of spring peepers, the big travel night for amphibians, shooting stars, fields bursting with fireflies, fluffy dandelions heads, and, of course, spring wildflowers.
Back in the summer when I was 18, my parents were really cramping my style. I couldn’t wait to cut the apron strings and head off to college.
When we were growing up, my best friend and I liked to channel our inner primate by heading for the trees. We’d spend lazy afternoons climbing towering white pines with all their branches about to give way.