Vernal Equinox

Finally, the vernal equinox occurs today when the sun passes over the equator. Spring officially begins at 11:57 p.m. CST today for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. To celebrate, my dog and I walked to the woods. She was as excited as I was. I had my camera in hopes of catching a great shot.  I think she was open to any experience. Her pace was a steady trot, sniffing the air and ground as she went.

We came upon a spot where a silhouette of bones lay on the ground. I thought my dog, bone lover that she is, might disturb them, but she sniffed and walked away. The bones were bleached white with no meat or fur left. They lay undisturbed, just as the wild animal breathed its last breath.

My next thought was of an essay written by Aldo Leopold, Home Range.  In the essay he wrote about the wild things that live on his farm. He posed the question, “Who is the more thoroughly acquainted with the world in which he lives?” He was referring to the owner of the farm, me, and the wildlife who roam there.

I know wild things visit my farm. I hear them at night. I see their tracks. Once a deer came to eat berries from a wreath placed on my back door. Unlike the wildlife, my survival does not depend on knowing these things.  A rabbit needs to know a place of refuge. Nightly the deer must find a safe place to bed down. Their very survival requires much knowledge of the area they make home.

You can read more about Aldo Leopold at this web site: www.aldoleopold.org

Oh, and my dog, who I bathed yesterday, found her way to the pond and waded right in. She was in dog heaven.