With some time to myself and no clear destination in mind, I headed into the valley and was quickly enveloped in the quietness of the forest now freshly covered in snow.
I let Stella determine the direction and based on her whim and the scents that caught her attention we followed the Spring Creek trail. At various points we paused to admire the creek as its open water and frozen sections intertwined creating random patterns of light and dark. We would stop and then continue to wander.
Deer tracks crossed over the trail at many points, an indication of the large number of them that call this section of the valley home. At one point a red tailed hawk caught our attention as it flew from tree to tree like a sentinel announcing our presence. The trees were alive with other birds as well, mostly cardinals and woodpeckers and we stopped to watch them too. We would enjoy for a minute and then, you guessed it, continue to wander.
That's the great thing about wandering without a clear destination in mind; we had the time to stop and take in each view as well as change direction whenever we wanted.
At some point I was reminded of the Henry David Thoreau quote: "The scenery, when it is truly seen, reacts on the life of the seer. How to live. How to get the most of life... How to extract its honey from the flower of the world."
I stopped and pondered those words, smiled, and feeling like I had gained some new understanding, continued my wander.
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