January 2004

16 January 2004

All of our eyes were on nature recently -- what a glorious week of winter.

The bird activity on campus last Monday spoke of the storm to come. A flock of Varied Thrush, normally found in higher elevation forests, had descended to campus. They and our usual residents were busily (perhaps frantically) foraging as the temperature dropped – filling their crops while the ground was clear. Tuesday morning we awoke to a landscape made pure. Outside my house the animal activity was hard to see, but not perceive, as signs of nature became indirect. Scattered brown droppings under a holly tree revealed that a group of fruit eaters, stoic Robins perhaps or dapper Cedar Waxwings, had breakfasted there. A walk around the neighborhood told further tales as golden circles (!) taught those of us usually tuned to vision what the olfactory-gifted ones already knew – Rover passed by here, Bella claimed this corner as hers. Less obvious signs came in the shape of depressions made by a pair of squirrels venturing down from their lofty hiding spot. Perhaps the snow wasn’t too deep for them to smell their hidden stores or maybe they too were out for a pleasant stretch of the legs. Whatever their motivation, the ghost of their activity was a cheery sign on a classic winter day.

As the snow fades from the ground and we return to an Oregon winter, I try to hold on to the image of those first few days of peaceful white...