Morning in the Forest

The sun's light is starting to return to my mornings. Now, it is not just the light from the approaching dawn that I can see when I leave the cabin in the morning, but the sun's light itself. As you can see from today's photo, I am not yet touched by the sun where I live, but I can see it on the next mountain. I can see it creep further down that mountain, morning after morning.

The change in light from Friday to Monday is always a bit of a surprise to me. I don't take a pre-dawn walk with the dogs on Saturday mornings, waiting until the sun is up and then taking them for a nice long walk. Sunday mornings I am at work at Ski Roundtop before sunrise. So it is Monday before I can see what changes just three days brings to the timing of the sunrise.

This morning, a cold and windy 10 degrees F., I heard a bluebird singing as I left the cabin. I was a bit surprised that it would be out and about so early on a morning this chilly. Bluebirds usually roost in dead or hollowed trees in winter, often in fairly large groups, huddled together agains the cold. Here, in this untrimmed, unmanaged, uncleared forest, they do well on their own, without the benefit of bluebird boxes that sustains them when people can't leave the forests alone.

I have never understood why some people apparently consider a forest something that must be pruned, cleared, trimmed, dead trees cut, etc. They seem to feel such a thing is unsightly and needs the hand of humans, sort of like a large garden. I much prefer the unfettered forest, operating on its own, without intervention by humans. I like to watch and learn from the forest's own rhythms. I like to see how everything has its own place, and its own culture, if you will. Nothing is unused in a forest. Nothing is excessive. Everything is useful to some species, whether it be a bird or insects or animals. In a forest, everything is already perfect.

Note: You may want to check out this week's "Good Planets" photo roundup at Laura's blog Somewhere in New Jersey (Saturday's post) . One of my photos is in it and many beautiful photos takes around the world this past week. Enjoy!