Prospecting for Spring and Cool Hollow Wrens

Hmmm, where can I find the patience to see myself through the chilly days of February as my patience with winter wears as thin as April ice?

The official first day of spring is still a month away and another four months remain to count off until the calendar declares summer has taken the reins. But my mind is already conjuring the treasured images of those seasons of delight.

Convict me of wishing away today if you must. I am giving in to the urge to escape on a virtual journey to my favoured haunts where nature lies patiently waiting. I feel the comforting weight of a backpack on my shoulders as I strike out on pathways I know so well. Trails my feet are so accustomed to that they need no other instructions than simply walk on.

Walk on down shady woodland paths chattering with avian song:

The “Wet Woods” in April at the base of the spit… Following the crisscrossing paths through budding trees and bushes, serenaded by the nasal ank ank ank of Nuthatches, the sharp peek of a Downy Woodpecker and the high pitched see see see of Golden-Crowned Kinglets.

The second-growth woods above Cool Hollow… Strolling the dirt trail watching keenly for Winter Wrens skittering along brush piles, Brown Creepers spiraling up tree trunks and the first Pine Warbler trilling from high in the treetops.

Walk on beside peaceful marshlands sheltered from the hustle-bustle of modern life:

The curving shorelines of Second Marsh… dotted with the yellow globes of Bullhead Pond-lilies, the pure white scallops of Fragrant Water-lilies and silent stands of bulrushes.

The sweeping expanse of Tiny Marsh… playful Black Terns skimming the water, Racket-tailed Emerald dragonflies stitching their way along the dyke and muskrats slinking through the reeds.

Walk on through fragrant meadows awash with wildflowers:

The island meadow at Mountsberg chest-high with weeds… where perhaps the orange spot-band of a Coral Hairstreak butterfly or the mosaic blue of a Lance-tipped Darner dragonfly may be waiting to be discovered.

The sloping hillside meadow at Palgrave … where brilliant yellow Swallowtail butterflies cavort with fluttering Monarchs and perhaps the subtle browns and grays of a Dreamy Duskywing.

I take virtual walks down these beloved paths I know so well as the February days march stubbornly on. Late winter has become a metaphor for patience. The patience I must summon for the reward of the awakening of spring and the sprawling indulgence of summer.

I will walk on through the treasure trove of memories I have accumulated. Tracing and retracing the favourite paths and trails of which I never grow weary. Prospecting for spring and the swinging wide of nature’s doorway once again.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

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