Walking the Fence

Sometimes you just have to set life aside and go for a walk. I don't do it enough. But yesterday the nice weather lured us outside. It wasn't an idle pleasure walk. We were walking the fence that surrounds our woodland pasture for the first time since the cold set in just before Thanksgiving. With all the harsh winter weather, we needed to survey the damage, fix any major breaks, and make plans for strengthening the fence in the coming months. I took the camera along just in case I saw something interesting -- or some sign of spring to prove that winter is over.

We found surprisingly few problems as we descended down the hill -- a few limbs were were able to move, a couple of wires that needed to be tightened. Those we were able to fix. We made note of a couple places that were fine now, but would need to be reinforced soon. We'll need more poles, so we made note of it and moved on. We also discussed plans for expanding the fence a bit this summer.

 

Rock formations - the mystical place

At the bottom of the hill, we turned and walked along the rock formations. The first time I walked the fence ten years ago, I felt that the rock formations were a spiritual place -- a place of solitude and contemplation. Every time I walk there, I promise myself that someday I'll go there just to sit -- possibly with a notebook, maybe with some wine -- sit and listen to the sounds of the forest.

Benches

There are natural benches there, inviting me to do just that. But today was not a day for sitting. We had a fence to walk.  And so we walked past the rock formations and stopped briefly to note that the creek was not as high as we expected.

Creek

By chance, I looked down at the ground just in time to see these tiny tracks before they were obliterated by my own.

Tracks

Our pace slowed as we walked up the hill. It's always easier going down. I kept my eyes open for signs of spring, but didn't see one. It was John who found the sign that spring is coming when this tiny bee landed on his blue jeans.

So on Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for many things: minimal damage along the fence line, the beauty of the paradise we live in, bees, and the scent of spring rain in the air this morning.