Yesterday I took a most satisfying and enjoyable walk in the woods.  The morning was windy and very cold.  But as I turned off the dirt road along the top of the ridge and descended along a trail, deeper into the woods, the wind’s might was chastened by the mountain and the trees. 

     After a few minutes, the frozen earth under my feet gave way to a springy, pleasant sponginess.  I looked down to see what was different on the trail and saw a long, broad swath of bright green, parts of it obscured by a fine layer of snow.  The moss, despite the cold, dry air, had kept its moist verdure.  And in the light film of snow were some faintly etched lines, crisscrossing each other here and there.  They resembled animal tracks, except they had no ’shape.’  I realized then that they had been made not by animals but by whorls of needles that had fallen from the pines and skidded across the thin layer of snow to create these little tracks.

     Then I noticed a tree I was happy to see, a witch hazel.  This slender, little tree that lives in our local forest is easily recognizable during the winter because it keeps its yellow ’flowers,’  unruly little  clusters of pencil-like petals going every which way.  I’m always happy to see a witch hazel because it’s one of the trees I can recognize without its leaves.  Somehow, knowing trees’ names makes me happy.  Why is that, I wonder.

     As I walked farther down the hill, toward the tiny stream that runs through the crevice between ridges, I came upon the giant anthills.  Ever since I first saw them 16 years ago, I have wondered why these huge anthills , a couple of feet tall and three or four feet wide, dot a single small area just uphill from the stream.  I assume the ants are interested in the stream water.  But there was no sign of life at any of the hills yesterday.  In fact, the tops of some had that abandoned home look; no one had been clearing the debris away from the door.  And I wondered, like Holden Caulfield wondered about the ducks in Central Park, what the ants do in the winter.  Do they hibernate?  Something to investigate. . . . .

     On my way back up the hill, I stopped to watch as a chickadee behaved in a curiously hummingbird-like fashion.  The bird perched on a branch.  Then it lifted into the air, almost stationary for a moment or two, with its fluttering wings a soft blur.  Then the bird ascended to a higher branch and perched.  Then it lifted again, ‘hovered,’ and chose yet a higher branch.  One more brief stop mid-air until it finally settled on a branch where it rested briefly before darting out of sight.

     Speaking of birds, I also watched as a pileated woodpecker did its little march, high up, tracing the circumference of a tree.  Dramatic both in size and color, pileated woodpeckers are most visible this time of year around here.  In fact, as I’ve been writing this, sitting in my living room, I’ve paused to look out the windows at three of these birds beating their heads against branches in trees near the house.  And do these birds ever work hard!  As their bright red crested heads pounded the branches, bits of wood burst forth and fall away.  I can’t imagine what it would feel like to get my food by beating my head against a tree!

                                                                                                                       

  

    

     The United States is moving ahead faster with eco-friendly energy alternatives than seemed possible just a year ago.  So says Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute.  He points to oil insecurity, fluctuating gas prices, and increasing concern about coal’s impact on climate change, as reasons for the rapid growth in cleaner, more earth-friendly energy alternatives. 

     Here are a few examples Brown cites as evidence of the hopeful shift he reports:

• Texas has overtaken California as the leading generator of electricity from wind.  With nearly 6,000 megawatts of wind-generated capacity online, Texas also has a staggering 39,000 megawatts in the construction and planning stages.  When all of the planned work is completed, Texas will be able to meet the electricity needs of all of its 24 million residents and to supplement electricity in bordering states.  Maine, New York, Delaware, and Oregon are also moving rapidly to expand their wind-generating capacity.
• “Solar power is expanding at a breakneck pace,” says Brown.  He notes that Pacific Gas & Electric has entered into solar cell power contracts for two plants that will have a combined peak power output equal to that of a large coal-fired plant.
• Geothermal energy is also developing at an explosive rate.  The nation’s current 3,000 megawatts of geothermal generating capacity will double soon, when the 96 geothermal plants now in development are completed.  With California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah leading the way, the stage is set for massive future development of geothermal energy.

     Brown notes that to take full advantage of these exciting developments in alternative energy, a national grid is needed.  And while private individuals are investing in long-distance, high-voltage, transmission lines, these lines must be incorporated into a carefully-planned national grid if we are to take full advantage of our country’s tremendous potential energy wealth. 

     I am hopeful that the Obama administration will act decisively to build on this encouraging sudden growth in the development of alternative energies.

    

     I thank Tanya Bohlke for sending me this prayer.  To me, it speaks directly of the peace and connection available to us when we open to the natural world around us.–April Moore

     Deep peace of the running wave to you.
     Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
     Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
     Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
     Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace of the Light of the World to you.

    Now that the season of giving gifts is upon us, I would like to share a piece I wrote for my husband Andy Schmookler’s website www.NoneSoBlind.org many months ago.  Perhaps you will find in it some food for thought.  Just click on the link below.–April Moore

http://www.nonesoblind.org/blog/index.php?s=Donations+Instead+of+Gifts