Monday, October 26, 2009

Mendenhall River

Yesterday in the late afternoon i walk South.
It has been snowing today, but now the sun is trying to come out, peeking through big gray clouds. The mountains surrounded by white clouds, as in above them, underneath them and pouring out of them. I cross the highway and take my last year's ski trail. As a ski trail it was easy to find. Now i have to really watch where i am going.( i did hang some flagging here and there:) This is a dark forest, sinking deep in the moss, deep cracks in the soil, which will fill up with snow. Of and on my trail follows animal trails, which are now obvious, but weren't last winter. Here and there i recognize a friend, a familiar tree and find my way that way. And all the woodpeckers living here help me. Only at the end i totally loose the trail in an open uniform poplar forest. But then i come out by the meadow any way.
The meadow looks very wet. But stepping onto it it is rather frozen, only puddles around the grass. When it froze the water was quite high. I follow the ice and go around dark spots in the ice. Where it appears that there are channels made by the muskrats, just underneath the surface. There are several muskrat push ups (i don't know if that is the correct terminology) surrounded by open water.
Climbing over the heavily forested levee.
There is the river!




You see the river is wide open. flowing with clear water. In summer the river is always muddy. As you see the river did try to freeze already the water being much lower now.
The swan feather is frozen into the ice in the meadow.
When i walk back, the sun is setting gloriously. And i walk through the dark forest in dusk. Which... makes for a great Halloween setting:)
Honestly there is no bone in me that is scared, though. Hmmmm i am scared of other
things in life, probably ones that you laugh about....

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