Stumpman Surprise.
Sometimes in the dead of winter you have to look extra hard to find evidence of the creatures that live in the woods. The short, cold days and long nights send them deep into their winter hidey holes. But I’m always on the lookout for telltale tracks in the snow or other signs that someone has been this way.
On this minus-5 degree afternoon in February, I had a feeling someone was watching me as I crunched noisily along on the path. My nose hairs were icing up and I had my fingers curled up inside the hand of my gloves, leaving empty, floppy fingers dangling. The bright sun illuminated the rusty branches of a scrub dogwood and the blue grey shadows of the trees fell long across the snow bank on the North side of the trail. It wasn’t until I was directly upon it that I noticed the surprised, one-eyed stumpman standing right beside the trail gaping at me.
"Winter is the king of showmen, Turning tree stumps into snow men And houses into birthday cakes And spreading sugar over lakes. Smooth and clean and frosty white, The world looks good enough to bite. That’s the season to be young, Catching snowflakes on your tongue! Snow is snowy when it’s snowing. I’m sorry it’s slushy when it’s going."
Ogden Nash
I’m glad the snow is snowy when it’s snowing, and I will be sad when it is going, but in the meantime I’m enjoying the rare woodland stumpman "oh-oh"ing.
Comments