News & Events

 By Michael Boing

   The day had dawned bright, beautiful, and cool, a blessing for a morning in midsummer. Toby the dog and I set out with our spirits high and our energy levels up with every intention of having an enjoyable walk in Babcock woods. The previous week or so had been exceptionally warm, so the lower temperature was even more welcome than usual. Where would our walk take us and what would we see?

   As we reached the meadow, I realized we could go across it without the intense heat that usually greeted such a route. Toby always wants to take that route and was quite pleased, his body language indicating great pleasure including his little tail pointing straight up at the sky. I was interested in seeing how the milkweed was doing, although it was easy to tell from quite a distance that the recent abundant rainfall and summer sun had done their work admirably.

What also could be seen were a handful of little heads poking out of the ground — a family of groundhogs.  We had seen their holes before, but weren’t sure if they were occupied, although Toby suggested he would be more than willing to do any excavation necessary to confirm or deny their existence. But I didn’t want to endanger him or be responsible for the large hole he would create, so we moved on with my having to authoritatively command my companion to abandon his fleeting dream of confronting an unknown critter.

We re-entered the woods on the other side of the meadow and proceeded on the Muir Trail down a slight incline. One of the small drainage streams runs along the side of the trail and Toby always wants to go down in it and sniff and explore. This day I let him do as he wished as the water level was low and he wouldn’t get too wet. The water actually flows under part of a tree — the trunk of the tree is on one side of the stream while large, thick roots extend across to the other bank, forming a bit of a cave. Toby disappeared before I was able to convince him to return to my side, but the sojourn made his day.

As we made our way on through the woods, we passed another walker going in the opposite direction. After greeting each other, I remarked on what a beautiful morning it was. She responded that every morning is beautiful. So much of what we encounter on an everyday basis can be a positive if we approach it with the right attitude. And every morning is beautiful, particularly when it starts with a walk in the woods at Salemtowne.

Note: Michael Boing is a Salemtowne resident and Editor of the resident publication, Reflections.