wandering the wild places.

 Sunday i realized again how i appreciate living in the wild, to wander endlessly.

Yesterday i went on a long walk-about, into a forest that i actually had not set foot in. When you know me, you might know how i have lived here for almost 30 years, but  I always like  to explore. For me the greatest joy is finding a new 'special ' place, in my old surroundings.

But why i realized this again; Sunday afternoon i climbed up 'my' crocus hill half a kilometer from here. The first 20 years i must have climbed that hill weekly, if not once a month for sure. But as a neighbour moved into the lot in between me and the hill, i had to get there round about, not that they do not want me on their property (lucky i have only one neighbour like that), most people here have lots of wild space and no fences, so wandering the neighbourhood is... kind of ok. But with more and more people living here.. it has changed for me. First i climb up the hill, 2 k from here and sure enough  i run into the neighbour who lives there ( we have 10 to 20 acre parcels.) Nice enough to see him, but he says, don't scare my wife, she is laying in the hammock. So I take a wide berth around that house.  A public path would be nice, i think, at least neighbours will expect people and not just bears. But i do not want public paths, the national parks here are bad enough (haha not as bad as down south). Yes yes i am very egocentric, wish the world for myself. It is a bind I am sure Thoreau talked about it.

And i like to say; fences maybe make good neighbours, but they keep me imprisoned.

Anyways i just have to walk farther for a crocus. Or just wait,  because they will bloom here around the house, eventually.

So yesterday I planned a 4 hour  walk, I forgot my camera and my husband now dreads being left home alone, (I feel he is quite capable) but I did it in 3.

 Tadada,  I explored a  kind of plateau, mainly small poplars grow there, climbing up to it and on the edge it was snow free, and low and behold i do find myself on a kind of path. Yes some of us, me incl. we do make paths here. It is kind of frowned upon close to the parcels, like i do not make a path around the neighbours lot, but have many going from my lot, that I appreciate being used by others. Again a path gives an unspoken ok.

But here today now an hours walk away from any house, I am delighted to find a path ,I think it is Jay's, I will ask him, from way back in the days. And sure enough when in ends I see tiny pieces of tape. 

As the terrain start to go down, I walk a bit in the snow covered forest away from the edge of the plateau, towards the middle  so to speak. And amazingly quite a centre it has, like a navel on a flat belly.

First i don't see it is a navel, I just see through the still bare small poplars a giant Pine, the only one. A pine is always special here, because the forest is Spruce/Poplar with Willows.  So i brave the half a foot deep snow.

And a special place it is, a little moose meadow,  a depression in the ground with well browsed  willows. lined with big Poplar and a giant Pine! As i have my snack there and lay down on a needle strewn bare spot, in bright sunshine. And guess who joins me, with it's loud song? The Yellow-rumped Warbler. A bird that makes me think of city parks, by it is bright colors. a city slicker!

And my husband, i brought him  home some crocuses from along the way, he had been totally fine and even had managed some chores.