Walk of Wonder

Come walk with me. I need a breath of fresh air and I’d like to take a Walk of Wonder. I’d like to see what is changing in nature as Winter is settling in.

Let’s head down the sidewalk and toward the woods. I need to sweep the sidewalk; it’s covered with an abundance of small acorns and they are making such noise as they crunch under our feet. Let’s walk on the grass. It’s not so noisy here and we can listen to other nature sounds; stop a minute and listen. The wind is rustling through the drying leaves and sweeping through the pine trees and more acorns are falling hitting the sidewalk and ground. The squirrels are chattering back and forth as they race around a tree.

I think the little brown wrens have spotted us. They’re darting away deeper into the woods. I miss the summer birds that have flown away for the winter. I miss their cheerful singing. Of course, some birds do winter here with us. I can hear a woodpecker over on that dead tree beating a rhythm while the chickadees sing. Don’t you just love the chic-a-dee-dee song? It’s one bird song I can mimic! It seems the black crows are trying to out sing them, but their song is a little too harsh and loud for me. Oh, look up, quickly! There go geese flying low and honking like trumpeters. They are so low that even with all the loud honking you can hear their wings beating as they head south in their familiar V-shape.

As long we we’ve paused in our walking, let’s look around and enjoy the last of autumns colors. I’m so glad the sun is shining today. It makes the leaves of the gum trees shimmer in yellow and golds. The oak leaves are mostly brown and faded yellows and the leaves on the Bradford Pear have turned a lovely burgundy red. If you look along the fence row that small tree has pretty pink spots on its leaves. I wonder what type of tree it is.

Don’t just look at the ground or at eye level; look up. So many leaves have fallen to the ground and now you can see the tangle of the tree limbs reaching for the sky. I’ve often wondered what makes a limb grow this way or that way. I’ve also wondered why some trees have struggled and grown crooked. I know they try to find the easiest path to sunshine, but some are bent in the strangest ways. Look way up at the very top of that oak tree. With the leaves gone you can see where one of our resident squirrels live. They are cute to watch as they gather the acorns and hide them, but they are persistently trying to rob the birdseed.

I’m getting a crick in my neck looking up, so let’s head on down toward the woods. Have you noticed how many pine trees are around here? They are such tall straight trees. I can see that they are shedding some. The ground below them is covered in brown needles. And, look at the fence and bushes below them! The fallen needles caught on them and it reminds me of the old-fashioned aluminum icicles we used to hang on our Christmas trees.

Let’s go back to walking. My neighbors must be burning leaves again. He tries so hard to keep his yard leaf free. We try to keep the yard around the house free of leaves, but down in the pasture there are more trees and a lot more leaves. Let’s be like children and kick the leaves into the air. Take a deep breath; smell the muskiness of decaying leaves and the dampness of the earth. Seems our kicking has uncovered a patch of mushrooms. I guess the damp earth under the leaves is the perfect condition for them to sprout up. I like mushrooms they are one of my favorite things in nature, but I do not like the rank smell they have when they begin to rot, especially those big brown ones. I will admit that the smell of rotting mushrooms is not one of my favorite smells!

We’ve wandered for a good while now, it might be time to head back in. The air does seem to be getting colder and I’m ready for some hot chocolate and some cookies. Have you seen how beautiful my camellia bush is this winter? I’m glad I planted it right by the front door, This year it has been stunning with its multitude of bright Christmas red blooms. I can see the bees are still hanging around them though they do seem to be moving slower and sitting on the blooms longer. That’s to our advantage, we can observe them closely without the chance of a sting.

I’m glad you walked with me on this gorgeous day. There were so many things in nature that can only be seen, heard and smelled during this season of Autumn turning into Winter. Did the walk slow your down and relax you? It certainly did me. It's a perfect way to reduce the anxiety we’re feeling this year. Come back any time and we’ll do this again. We both need to focus on the beauty of nature and not on our problems. Goodbye and I love you!

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Winter Writing Sanctuary

Assignment: Walk of Wonder