Local Magic
I just returned from hiking for several days in the mountains about four hours away. There’s much peace and tranquility in the mountains this time of year ~ clear crisp air, cool sunny days, and vivid night skies. Ground squirrels and picas are preparing for winter, and even a red fox one visits one evening, curious to see what humans do as fall quickly approaches.
I love being present in the mountains at any time. In this moment, at the end of summer, there’s something compelling about the timelessness of the granite peaks towering over aspen groves, the music of the leaves in concert with a light breeze, and the murmur of the nearby creek rolling over ledges on its way to lower elevations. The nights speak of the coming of colder weather, leaving frost in the north-facing shadows until the sun is high in the sky. At one point, I find myself desiring to extend my stay and knowing my presence is required again in the community where I live.
It’s been almost two days since my return. In looking out the window this morning, I find brilliant blue skies back-lighting the spruces in the front yard. The occasional golden leaf decorates one of the three aspens in the corner.
I’m reminded of a nature walk through town I took at the first blush of summer, following some old irrigation canals grown thick with grasses and brush that serve as home to a small cluster of colorful tanagers, robins, and finches. Dragonflies flit across the calm surface of the water in one channel cut off from the active agricultural flow. A community of prairie dogs lives along the bank of the largest canal and makes noisy comment about my audacity in traversing their neighborhood.
There’s peace and contentment in knowing that I can access Nature’s magic locally, just outside my front door. The tangle of old irrigation canals lies a quick four blocks north and east of the house. It’ll be interesting to see how the inhabitants on the banks of the canals have survived the passage of high summer, and what steps they are pursuing in response to ever-lengthening nights of encroaching cold. I smile to myself as I imagine the antics of prairie dog pups and the stern response of the golden-furred sentries that warn of any human approach. It appears a return visit to this lovely site is in order.
In every natural setting, there’s plenty of local magic to soothe the soul, uplift the heart, bring peace to the mind, and support the body’s need for movement and exercise. I’m grateful for the diversity of Nature’s treasures that are available to me, any day, both here and in the mountains. Some times it takes stepping away from what is present right in front of us to appreciate its gifts even more.