This afternoon I was on the trail as a co-leader for the Stonington Land Trust's inauguration of its pathway through the organization's newest acquisition, Old Mystic Ridge. The area has some gorgeous up-and-down terrain, impressively large trees, and what will be, come the autumn, drop-dead-gorgeous views. And to think: OMR could have been a McMansion development. It was a little on the warm side, but we attracted a nice group, perhaps two dozen in all, of trekkers, and they enjoyed the walk, along with, I hope, my contributions about the ecology and geology of the area. Among the finds was a lone Blue Jay feather. I'm hoping that this did not mark the spot at which the noisy bird was rendered silent. Maybe it just marked the resting place of a primary, molted and discarded. Since there were no other feathers found in the vicinity, the un-grim scenario seems more likely.