This past weekend the temps dropped to 22 degrees F. Why does 22 degrees in February feel colder than 22 degrees in December? It’s not obviously, but my thoughts about the cold certainly change as winter goes by. Mental toughness begins to fade as thoughts of spring germinate in my mind. Whatever the reason I felt cold sitting on the bank of my favorite creek in town. Maybe it was because I sacrificed a warm sitting spot out of the wind for a spot along the creek where I could hear the soft trickle of water passing beneath the ice. Sometimes you have to sacrifice physical comfort for mental comfort or spiritual comfort. It’s a little bit like spending time with someone who may not have long to live. It’s hard to see them suffer but compassion is stronger than our own discomfort. I know this creek well. It does feel like an elderly friend. I have studied it, waded through it, collected insects for science, and simply enjoyed its company for a long time. Some people simply see it as a beautiful old creek. But, I know its secrets. I know that it doesn’t hold too many insects. I’ll never know why that is for sure but I suspect it’s due to pesticide runoff from city residents and local farmers. Nobody wants to hear that though and I try not to think about it too much. I remember that Edward Abbey once said, “One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.” So here I am; breathing deep, sitting quietly and contemplating the precious stillness.
The Heron 