As the Forest Wakes

finding a pocket of snowless forest bathed in spring's warm glow

There are pockets of forest that can now be found where the remnants of snow and ice have gone. Melted into the cool earth, evaporated into the warming air, the snow has left behind the slightly flattened verdant moss, while tiny buds emerge, entering their season of growth.

Softened sunlight pours between the trunks of towering trees, and the air is alive with the sound of birdsong: robin, thrush, chickadee and nuthatch, juncos and a woodpecker or two. Every living creature contained within this forest seems to be just as excited about the season as I am.

Myriad varieties of moss slowly thicken from their mildly squashed winter state, reaching tendrils upward and onward. I crouch and bring myself closer to the ground, where all the miniature wonders can be found.

I find tiny feathers waving in a gentle breeze, sun-speckled and near glowing.

I spot perfect globes nestled into the shadowed crevices along the rocky cliff at my side.

I revel in the long tendrils that encase spindly branches of one solitary tree, dripping down toward the earth.

After a few hours filled with directionless wanders and many pauses, I notice a change. Buds held tightly close when I began my forest foray had rapidly unfurled into the light.

Nature astounds me with her pace; when it is time, it is time.

Gorgeous greenery explodes out of its tiny encasement, greeting the light, the air, coming alive.

I glance upwards once more to bask in the gentle energy of the forest. I tilt my head toward the sunlight, close my eyes, and engage my senses.

The soft currents of air against my skin, the light beyond my closed eyelids, the cheeps and twitters and a woodpecker’s knocking, the moist scent of fresh soil.

I sigh with gratitude and joy. Finally, winter has released its grip.

See you next time,

♡ Whitney

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