The Last Two Stops

Trail Wood #107 Earl Plato

The last two stops at Trail Wood - Stops 6 & 7.
“Stop 6. In the yard below the terrace one of our cottontails nibbles tender new grass, washed by rain in the night. I watch it nip off a blade and chew rapidly beginning at the lower end. He blade grows shorter and shorter until the tip disappears. A blue jay flies into the apple tree with a raucous note of alarm. I notice how the rabbit instantly sits up, its head held high, looking around and ready to leap. It is an animal tuned in on all the warning sounds around it.
Stop 7. One last pause before I come indoors, a pause to watch a white-breasted nuthatch at a feeder still stocked with sunflower seeds. I see it pick up a seed, discard it, pick up another seed and discard it. I begin counting. It discards twenty-eight seeds before it chooses one to its liking and flies away.
The Walk of the Seven Stops. On every trip afield it is the halts, the pauses, the moments when activity ceases that mark encounters of special interest.”
Writer’s note: Do you get Teale’s message? Slow down and observe what is around you on your next walk.