what a day

How great is this?  Before dawn today I went for a walk and saw the waning gibbous moon heading for the western horizon.  At mid-morning, until noon, I walked in a swamp and surrounding uplands with several friends.  And this afternoon, as the sun was heading toward the western horizon, I was out on my cross-country skis.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and there were loads of tracks to be seen.  There is nothing like fresh air and sunshine to make a body feel alive!

rodent tracks and burrow

more rodent tracks (mouse?)

squirrel tracks at the base of a tree

 

Mother Nature - the world's greatest artist

Notice how the light is different in the two recent shots of Round Meadow.  We are clearly still in a low-sun phase of the year - a consequence of living at a somewhat northern latitude.  I have a friend who lives in Sweden - far north of Stockholm - and I think I would hate those days with almost no sunlight.  I suppose one gets used to it, but still....  I also have a cousin who lives in Costa Rica - at this time of year I wouldn't mind the nearly endless sunlight that they get there.  BUT  we really get the best of both worlds here - four seasons, reasonable temperatures, and endlessly changing scenery.  I've always lived in the northeastern U.S. and while I sometimes feel rather provincial, I also love it here and don't really want to live anywhere else.  I still have so much to learn about the flora and fauna of this area that I'm not ready to move on yet.