Listen carefully

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.  ~  George Washington Carver


 We walked in our neighborhood park today. Circumstances kept us from the wilderness, from the wild. We were alone in the park. It was grey and wet and quiet, save the sounds of the rain.

The mistletoe is bearing fruit.

This tree has worried me for some time. There is a split down the center. All too soon the weight of one side or the other will divide it - a loss to all of us.

The rain seeped through the split and down the trunk.

No creeks or intermittent streams, but intermittent drainage.

Grey on grey with clumps of mistletoe.

Trees reflected in puddles.

The curbs were full of water and leaves and reflected trees.

More reflections...

...and ripples of raindrops.

This walk was a different kind of wild.