Wachusett Meadow, Princeton, Massachusetts
Into the real spring.
The woods feel the energy coming from the young leaves.
Surfacing inclines and declines,
spreading brightness.
Shadows of the crowns are not yet here
and
little flowers know that it is now or never.
So crisp and intact...
Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
A glimmer of winter is reflecting off of sculpted motions of burbling streams.
Gurgles permeate the woods,
frozen sprinkles and bounces suspend the time.
Amidst the soon to be awakened... it is all about water, isn't it ?
Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
Maples are in bloom...
billions of florets, early spring blushes, infusing the breaths,
tickling my eyes...
Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
A large Hickory with the crown where some can easily get lost, among leaves, green balls,
and these thumps, hard but soft, hitting the ground.
Somewhere up there a brown squirrel is in the seasonal harvest...
Rock Fire Pond, Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
It is this time of year, the only time in the year,
when Salamanders leave the darkness of their homes and journey to the ponds to breed.
The young are skillful swimmers, their supple bodies moving with grace as if born to live in water.
Much as they will live most of their lives under cover in the forest
their bodies have not forgotten the past.
When about 350 million years ago, their ancestors diverged from strictly aquatic animals
and
made the first steps onto the land... without looking back...
Today they are equipped to survive on the land with a little help from water.
And their gigantic genome attests to that,
being in the range of 14-120 billion base pairs,
while our human genome has only 3.2 billion base pairs.
So delicate yet so sturdy to live for 20 years, a very long life, in a harsh world...
Brown Hill, Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
This is a rolling land with rocky hills but very few peaks.
So these peaks are popular for all those who wish to reach the top... a lot of us...
which makes them pretty busy places we tend to avoid and
enjoy the hills instead...
