Wednesday, January 02, 2008

A Footprint in the Melting Snow



New Year's resolutions are not my thing. But this year I've thought of one I like and can aspire to: I will strive to make my imprint upon this earth as light and as fleeting as a footprint in the melting snow.

I want to step on the earth with as little impact as a chickadee. I wish to be little more than the fog that twines between the trees of the forest. I want to be like a leaf that buds in spring, revels in the summer wind, explodes with color in autumn and then falls to the ground, only to be covered by winter's snow, dissolving gradually into the earth from which the next generation of trees will spring.

Practically, this means I will be searching for ways to have less impact on the earth, though I am not planning to go completely feral and live under a stump. So there will be compromises.

January 1 also marked the beginning of my new year's birding list, and that turned into a good day. I counted 18 species of birds, the total no doubt helped by a balmy morning. My most interesting sighting was not a bird but a bat that I found holed up in a corner of Roundtop's lodge.

Good new year to all of you!

4 comments:

Chris said...

Wonderful writing! What a great resolution for all of us to try. Neat find on the bat, I bet that was a surprise :)

Anonymous said...

Caryolyn,
I wish you well on your resolution. It is difficult in a consumerist society to pull it off, but one melted footprint at a time, and who knows where you will end up!Congrats on the 18 species to start off the New Year.
Vern

Anonymous said...

I'm not big on resolutions either, but I like what you have chosen. It's a great goal. Good luck and happy 2008!

smilnsigh said...

I look forward to following your quest... for ways to have less impact on the earth. I doubt that any of us can be that leaf. But I'm sure you will point the way, to many good ideas.

Wishing you a Happy and a Healthy New Year.

Mari-Nanci