Fall a good time to get lost (10/18/04)

This would be a perfect time to get lost in the woods. The air is crisp and cool and the leaves are crunchy underfoot. We need a last outing before the cold weather sets in for the winter. Being surrounded by trees is good for the soul.

We usually do our exploring in state parks on well-marked trails. One time we scrambled over some rocks then rounded a corner to come face to face with a deceased opossum. It looked like one of those balloons in the Thanksgiving Day parades on television, only smaller and smellier.

I have always wondered what happens to animals after they get bloated like that. Do they explode or simply deflate before the insects and scavengers use them for food? I can visualize a crow sticking its beak into one of those carcasses only to have it careen off like a balloon.

Another time we were walking up the side of a rather steep hill when it started to get dark. I should tell you that I am not good at reading maps. By the time I figure out where we are in relation to the squiggles on the paper we are somewhere else entirely because we never stop walking (or driving). We were still trudging up the hill when the sun vanished. If the moon and stars were out we couldn’t see them for the trees.

We had no idea where we were in relation to civilization or how long it would take to get to the parking lot. We weren’t even certain we were still on the trail. I trusted my husband to lead the way as he has a better sense of direction than I do. I started to slip and not wanting to climb the same mountain again (it got bigger after the sun went down), I reached out and grabbed something warm and fuzzy.

It was the size of a tail.

It moved.

My life passed before my eyes before I realized it was a branch. About five very long minutes later we saw man-made lights. I have never been so glad to see concrete in my life.

We learned our lesson and now make sure we are back to where we belong well before dusk. We would make lousy pioneers as we have lived in the city for way too long.

We haven’t done much hiking this year. It seems there is always too much to do around the house. This or that chore demands attention. Currently I am trying to empty the compost bin so I can fill it up again. I want to use the compost to baby the new bulbs that are sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to be planted. I can’t remember if I am supposed to plant bulbs in the light of the moon or the dark of the moon. It doesn’t matter as I want to amass a bigger hoard of these little morsels of life before I bury them.

I had to buy more winter aconite, Eranthis, because I mistakenly weeded them last year.

I didn’t realize that they come up in the fall so they can get a head start on spring.

I fell in love with these tiny yellow flowers the first time I saw them carpeting the half-frozen ground in Christy Woods in Muncie.

It looked as if the earth was covered in sunshine. The bulbs look like petrified peas and I have determined that I will put them in a spot that I almost never get around to weeding so they will be safe from my carelessness.

I would much rather be walking on trails than cleaning house or emptying the compost bin or doing any of the other thousands of jobs that are clamoring for my attention.

If the rain doesn’t let up soon the choice will be easy.

Then I can tell myself that I would end up being a muddy mess from sliding down an unknown path (its happened before) and I am better off working around the house or shopping for more bulbs.

Still, the lure of the woods is strong.

Thank goodness for rain or I would never get anything done.[[In-content Ad]]