Chairs waiting for spring

It wasn't January thaw warm, but it was close to the freezing mark, so it felt reasonably toasty. I headed up to the back woods, the section of upland and wetland that I've walked for years and now, sadly, is up for sale. Perhaps some of it, the wetland portion containing the vernal pools I've monitored for the past three decades in particular, will be declared off limits; perhaps someone enlightened will even buy it and preserve most of it.  But, I fear, it's more likely, similar to the fate of the other piece of ridge land, doomed to development. The idea of losing both areas is enough to make me want to put the For Sale sign up here and flee. But for now, it's still open land on which to walk and document the natural world. Clearly, I wasn't the only human interested in watching nature. The folks who had purchased this acreage earlier in the hopes of building an estate never had their dreams fulfilled. I hope they enjoyed the view. I hope I still can.