I usually take the time to look back at previous columns so that I don’t duplicate titles or too much of the same information.
Last January’s title was “A Year of Discoveries”. Oh my! None of us had any idea then what a year of discoveries it was going to be! But I hope that some of the discoveries have been positive ones: resilience, a renewed understanding of what’s really important, and, I hope, a heightened appreciation for nature and its wonder and healing potential.
Already this winter seems to be shaping up to be another up and down one. So I was impressed that even before Christmas there were skaters on the millpond. I was dubious about the safe thickness of the ice but there were no disasters. My father had a saying, a mnemonic actually, to help remember the safe thickness of ice for various activities. Sadly I never learned it and I can’t find it searching the Internet.
These up and down temperatures and rain or freezing rain often make walking treacherous. Christmas Eve gave us a gloomy day of rain. But by Boxing Day that pebbly ice had been covered by a layer of snow that made walking safer. I managed to walk Medd’s Mountain Trail early in the day. Standing at the lookout I trained my binoculars on a shape moving in the centre of the farm field. There was a very healthy coyote out hunting. Coyotes are usually to be seen hunting alone. But at night the sounds we hear are not from a single animal. I really must find out what kind of loose social structures they maintain and how the night chorus works.
Birding friends are telling me about sightings of birds that often don’t show up in our area. And the Internet is another source of this kind of information. I’ve often written about these irruptions of birds. One of our largest birds, a resident of Arctic tundra, has come south this winter. The Snowy Owl is being sighted in many places. This is one of the must-see birds! Luckily for us even though owls are usually nocturnal, this species is often out hunting during the day. My fingers are crossed in the hopes of seeing one this winter.
But as I’ve written before this isn’t the only irruption of birds this winter. I have already spotted Evening Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Pine Siskins and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Rumour has it that Pine Grosbeaks too are in our area. Keep your eyes and ears open!
After having to put our dog down at the end of July we found it next to impossible to get a new one. As you probably have heard or read many people decided to adopt a dog this past year. Luckily we managed to get a puppy a couple of weeks before Christmas. I hope she will be big enough and well enough trained by spring to be with me on the trails. How I’ve missed that!
I hope and trust that the discoveries from last year will stay with us throughout 2021. We are resilient. We can stay aware of the really important things in life. And we can always turn to nature to provide us with wonder and avail ourselves of its healing power. Get out! And enjoy!
Get Out! by Glen Spurrell
