Being Truly Wild.

Today has been one of those changeable days which make it difficult to plan a walk. We would have maybe an hour or more of calm air in which the sun shone and bathed the land in now-palpable warmth. It felt like spring was upon us, but then it would change dramatically. The sky would turn a menacing battleship grey within minutes, the wind would roar, and thick driving snow would bestow fifteen minutes to half an hour of true blizzard conditions to mock the vernal delusion. It was during one such downturn that I saw a lone blackbird defying the blast and feeding on the bird table while his plumage gradually turned white.

I never cease to wonder at the determination and resilience of wild creatures. While we take shelter behind our complex redoubts of lifestyle, they have to concentrate on the more primal affair of staying alive. I can’t say I envy them, but I do so respect and admire them.