(Almost) A Walk in the Woods

My timing was a little off. Either I was very late or very early in heading to Mohegan Park on our bonus day, February 29. I love to hike around Spaulding Pond regardless of the time of year though I will concede Thursday morning's cloudiness with something that felt a lot like snow and then some rain before finally some blue sky was a little more than I bargained for.

I wasn't alone. There were a couple of us strolling, although one of us was jogging at a pretty decent pace with headphones and mirror sunglasses on, looking a little like one of those "Greetings from Transverse City" posters I always imagine movie theaters of the future will be showing. 

I'm not good at guessing ages so I assume everyone I passed and with whom I did the nod and smile greet shuffle was about my age, plus or minus a decade. In my defense, we were all sort of bundled up against the wind, except for The Jogger who was in what seemed to be an electric blue Lycra running suit (probably visible from space). 

Souvenirs and memories

The great thing about Mohegan Park, even on a day in February we only have every four years, is you can inhale nature and exhale something a lot closer to tranquility than when you parked the car. 

Even a geezer like me, slightly shivering when on the shady side of the Spaulding Pond walk, can smile when I catch a glimpse of one of the turtles near the pavilion that's balanced on one of the branches floating in the water and is working on its tan even though it's all shell. 

I carry a handful of peanuts in my jacket pocket and am always on the lookout for chipmunks. We feed the squirrels at my house but I've yet to see a chipmunk in my neighborhood, so I make sure to pack provisions when headed to Mohegan Park. I love how you can hear them, and the squirrels and I have no idea what other small animals crashing around in the underbrush on the far side of the walk, where the flora and fauna reclaim the park. 

I wasn't the only one who stopped, looked, and listened as chipmunks, more a brown blur with a black and white stripe than anything else, rushed from one side of the walk to the other. The one I managed to interest in a peanut popped it in its cheek like it had been doing it professionally for years, causing me as I always do, to wonder how they know they can eat peanuts (perhaps the better question might be what can't they eat).

From a warmer walk

The playground was deserted-not that it should be surprising under overcast skies with temperatures hovering just above freezing. And when you go to Mohegan, off-season- so to speak, it's refreshing to see all the conifers that normally get overwhelmed by the leaves of all the other trees but on a crisp and cold day more winter than approaching-spring they stand out as their glistening green branches help remind me that the wheel of seasonal change is slowly turning in my favor. 

On Thursday, the birds outnumbered the people and were quite pleased with themselves as I walked the shore of the pond, looking, I suspect, like so many others for a sign however faint that better days are coming our way. I already know where I will spend them.
-bill kenny