Every Inch a Wilderness

Every inch a wilderness: 

at the height of Covid, all but the essentials shutdown, and worried about my father's safety and declining health due to congested heart failure, my walks were confined to my immediate neighborhood. Not long before, training for ultramarathons, I would roam the nearby bike paths for miles and hours, thinking nothing of spending an entire day accumulated distance for my training needs and the pleasure of sharing company with a few good friends. The pandemic and concern for my father changed that quickly and I kept my walks to just a few miles at a time, keeping close to home and phone in hand in case my father needed me. Fortunately I live in a beautiful town, a pond nearby, and miles of bike paths offering an escape without any real distance from my home. What I soon discovered was nearness of nature, that we are in the midst of it even through a suburban landscape, every inch a wilderness of its own. 

even a short walks through my neighborhood holds the promise of countless squirrels, rabbits, deer, and various birds. There will be hawks flying over head or perched ever watchful on a tree limb, a few times there's been an eagle spotted. My small pond, just a little over half-mile around, is home for ducks, geese, an occasional swan and blue heron, and most recently a few green herons have been spotted. Turtles abound and are always a joy to see as they dun themselves on partially submerged branches and flowered island dotting the water's surface. Occasionally a fox appears, shy, making its way though the woods in tentative steps, pausing often to appraise its present situation before disappearing in the brush. There's been rumors of coyotes, leaving hopeful of a future sighting and fearful for the smaller creatures. All of them are my companions, friends, having kept me company though my own fears of the pandemic and what life would hold without my father. 

and of course the various trees, and beautiful flowers, some grown wild while others planted as a pollinator garden. What's so often viewed as a troublesome weed is actually a feast for so many birds and treasured insects, responsible for a diverse and helpful ecosystem that supports the larger infrastructure of the world - literally, with every inch a wilderness it's all a seamless landscape by design. It's all nature, not removed or separated by sidewalk or suburban road, even the busiest city street is an island surrounded by natures presence, and this includes us, that we are belong to the environment as surely as blade of grass that finds its way through concrete, a small crack that offers wilderness a chance to reach towards the sunlight. 

yes, every inch a wilderness of its own, and this is what saved during those pandemic days, eased my worries, returned me to my essential place in nature. Life is ever present, the intimacy of my surroundings, home...

with every inch a wilderness. 

~

Peace, Eric