A New Year's Promise

Umtanum Creek, Yakima Canyon December 2013

"Each new year is a surprise to us. We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird, and when we hear it again it is remembered like a dream, reminding us of a previous state of existence. How happens it that the associations it awakens are always pleasing, never saddening; reminiscences of our sanest hours? The voice of nature is always encouraging." - H. D. Thoreau

We live in a time of change.  Clear signs of a changing climate are sensed, even by the senseless.  It is an easy time to feel trapped in hopelessness, yet -  We who have survived the darkest days can smile, though the bitter cold of winter is upon us, because signs that the light is returning abound! The plants respond by swelling their buds in anticipation of spring - and we who witness these things, can be drawn forward in hope of this eternal promise of the  sun's return.   It seems simple and yet profound.  It is nature and yet it enlivens the spirit. Each year I am indulging in the forest and her kind this time of year.  Even with wars being waged, polar ice caps melting and species going extinct, glorious and wondrous events are taking place that show me where to focus my attention for the best that nature has to offer - A promise that the only thing constant is change.