yellow light dapples the trees
its warmth
full of falsehoods
lulls us
so we linger
on the meadow's moss carpet
a little too long
shadows spring up from the ground
catching us
chasing us
off the mountain
forcing us
back to the cold truth
of January's calendar
We have been hiking again. I don't care if people think "that's all you do".
It is a cheap, healthy way to spend a winter day. I miss the ocean and being able to snorkel or ride our SUP. But I am all for "make hay while the sun shines" and as this place is full of mountains and we are fit enough to walk in them, so we hike. We tried out a new peak today. It was a (another) ridge climb through a swath of natural forest. It was pretty, but also depressing. Depressing because most of it was a silent, almost dead forest. It was full of trees, yes, and there were a few birds here and there, but there are no animals--no squirrels, no mice or foxes or other little creatures to look forward to. There are wild boars. The startle and scare us occasionally, but we usually don't see them, only know they exist because of all the tilling they do along the trails. There are also wild monkeys. They live in pockets around the gorge south of our city and it is always fun to hear them and see them when we walk. I am so used to seeing rabbits and chipmunks or squirrels when I walked in the States that it is a bit disappointing to not be able to see them here.
Loved this, including the beautiful photo. You may find tramping in NZ bush equally oppressive. It is, for the most part, intensely dark green. Apart from the occasional introduced mammal (deer, pigs, rats and possums), there are no native mammals at all. Bird life is ubiquitous, but now only a small portion of its former (pre-European) abundance, since much native 'bush' has been cleared for farming. The best places to see NZ as it 'used to be' are now the national parks. I am lucky enough to live in a spot where bellbirds visit each morning - they are rare in other parts of the country, but I miss the Tuis, especially the male birds, that used to frequent my Auckland garden each evening to drink nectar from the (Australian) Banksia tree at the bottom of my garden.
ReplyDeleteLove your stone at the start of this post.
ReplyDeleteAnd I must admit I am envious of your hiking even if 'that's all you do'!!
I used to spend a lot of my spare time hiking in South Africa but since moving to NZ marrying an absolute non-hiker and having 2 kids my hiking days are only a happy memory. I'm looking forward to one day being able to explore NZ's many and varied tramps and trails...with some like-minded hikers :-)
Happy hiking!