I walk with my head down against the brightness of the setting sun, seeing its reflected gleam on last year’s grasses lying flat after winter snows. Blinded by the sun my senses tune differently and I slowly become aware of the sound of rushing water – the spring snowmelt from the mountains has started! Life-giving clean cold mountain water, released from the winter snows just when things start growing. What an elegant system!
While walking I hear the cry of wild geese and look in the direction of the call. There was a bonded pair, the tall stylish male and the smaller female walking side by side, close together in the vastness of the field. They were so clearly a couple. They were looking for a place to nest and start a family. I resonate with them – the urges and responsibilities of parenthood connect us across species. I had been called out by the beauty of the late afternoon sun on the sagebrush sea surrounding my cabin. I wanted to be in it. Returning late, I stopped to turn and look back at the pink of the mountains as the sun sank below the horizon and dusk began, listening to the call of an owl.
— by Susan Eirich, PhD —
