Last night I walked to Upper Spectacle Pond in Otis and Sandisfield with the Berkshire Naturalists Club. How fun it is to be outside in the dark! I must do it more often!
We started at dusk from Rte 23 and walked a mile in on an unplowed dirt road to the lake. The sky was completely covered with clouds (I spied one star for a few minutes) but we did not need our headlamps and flashlights except once in awhile to navigate some ice or mud. It was amazing how, even with the cloud cover, my eyes adjusted and could see quite well.
We separated along the trail, then remained completely still for awhile, listening and looking around for activity. I heard rustlings in the leaf litter but nothing identifiable. Interesting how my mind creates images. It one point I could hear a small gust of wind coming in behind me. I also heard a loud noise which my mind saw as a herd something huge. However in a second I saw it was four dried leaves tumbling down the road! Yikes!
The moon was visible through the clouds but barely cast a shadow. It's amazing to share the woods with the nocturnal life.
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| Upper Spectacle Pond was still covered with ice but we did not go out on it as it had been so warm for the past week. |
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| The moon provided some light (and atmosphere!) through the cloud cover. |
