February 11

Thursday, Remi and I traveled 13 miles southwest of Alma to the small village of Sumner to hike at the 35- acre, Centennial Park where yesterday’s dusting of snow whitened the landscape once again. The mid-morning weather was partly sunny with temperature of 16 degrees and a light, frigid breeze out of the north. We left the car and proceeded west to the edge of the Pine River where I spotted a mating pair of Canada Geese that were getting an early start staking out their spring breeding territory. Hiking north, I paused to observe the swollen river as it flowed from north to south carrying small pieces of ice. Next, I started down the walking trail and remembered the time we were here last April. Continuing north along the riverbank, I paused and heard two birds: first, the mating call of a Cardinal, one of the early signs of spring, second, a Nuthatch. Fresh tracks on the trail revealed the movement of a variety of creatures including: coyote, rabbit, house cat and weasel. Further along, I stopped to gaze at the snow covered flood plain where last April the Skunk Cabbage was beginning to sprout. As the trail looped around toward the south, I thought about how it looked compared to last spring. Finally, we returned to the car and headed home.

February forest

Meandering flow

Carving the earth

Onward you go

Current speaks

Clear and concise

Scouring rocks

Sculpting ice

By snowy banks

Waters confine

Nature’s creation

River called Pine

D. DeGraaf