Winter in the woods is special. Sound and color are muted. My boots crunch softly in the snow and Chuck’s patter is softer still. In other seasons, the rush of the river is always beside us. Now, it is frozen silent. The canal, too, is frozen. Little footprints betray its use as a seasonal thoroughfare for beavers and otters and foxes and raccoons. There is no chorus of birdsong just a tweet and a flutter here and there.
Geese gather along the river’s edge watching chunks of ice float by in the small patches of slow moving water. Every now and then something stirs them up and they take to the sky with a flurry of wings and indignant honks.
It’s not just sound that is muted. Color is soft as well. The sky is watercolor blue with wisps of white. Dried grasses stand golden and fragile along the path. We spot a few eastern bluebirds. Their puffed out feathers are a subdued blue-gray and the red breast is a faint rust color.
On the path just ahead of us, a pair of deer step out of the bushes. They seem surprised to see us. Their coats are thick and wooly and they stand staring for a minute before darting away.
At a bend in the river, we come to a spot where the water is clear of ice. I spot an eagle and then another and another! Some appear to be juveniles. Some might be couples. They are everywhere! For a long time we watch them swoop from tree to tree. Their massive yellow claws and bright beaks are startling against the white bark of the sycamores and the snowy backdrop.
We move on, hugging the riverbank. I can see little footpaths leading down to the ice. We come to another place where there is a patch of running water. A quick movement at the edge of the ice draws my eye. It’s a dark critter emerging from the water. An otter climbs onto the ice, a fish in its mouth! Another swims along the edge. It slides in and out of the water so smoothly and gracefully.
I am so happy! For me, these encounters are like celebrity sightings. I feel lucky to have seen and spent time with these special creatures. And I’m grateful for the seasons that reveal special wonders year round.
