No matter how much time I've spent among the rocks and roots of the forests, I am still The Intruder. My footfalls, like thunderclaps, warn of my entry and presence. Tiny critters and birds go silent as I stalk through the woodlands. For not yet have I mastered being one with Nature. Instead, I am still just one within it.
Bigger game heeds the silence and also disappears. Though I can feel their eyes upon me. There is no menacing here, but my unwelcomed intrusion. Still, i continue to place one foot in front of the other. Going ever deeper looking for a place to sit within the silence borne of my presence.
The sun casts a million shadows of trees until it is completely blotted out by the older canopies. That steal all the warmth of it's rays. Another fine New England day among the trees. A woodpecker pecks, off in the distance, well out of my sight. A large crow flies overhead and caws a single time in his passing. Letting all the other creatures know of my position, A small flock of drab looking small birds frolic in a tree across the riverbank. Almost as if teasing me with their presence, as they dance from branch to branch, at the edge of my vision's capabilities.
Finally, a moment comes and grants me the gift of the Mother's offerings.
2 bald Eagles take wing from a tree in the foreground and swoop low before climbing. Circling round, they fly over me in this too small clearing. They pass overhead and I can see their faces as both crane their necks down to regard me. In my mind I felt they nodded to me their approval before they flew off. I watched them rise and then soar until the trees stole them from my vantage.
The December air grew colder, and I relented. Pleased with what had been given to me here in these woods, on this day. Happy inside to know that this place was here, and I was within it. Still learning to be as one with it.
