Well, it didn’t take me long to get back out hiking with my camera in hand. I was in need of the anti-anxiety medication that is a heavy dose of the Great Outdoors. I ventured to a different trail in the Mer Bleue Conservation Area. The trail began with the bold and mighty chickadees and the joy of seeing a yellow-bellied sapsucker up close (usually they are way up in the trees, tapping away). Mostly, I welcomed a quiet and still place, the cold air in my face, and the chance to think and breathe.

In my photo-taking, I tried to pay more attention to the small things, the details along the way. Some winter days seem like living in Black and White TV or in sepia tone-land, depending on the sunlight; the colors aren’t showy, if any show themselves at all. You don’t get the burst of color from other times of the year, of course. Everything seems to be waiting, just biding its time, in no rush but laying in wait when Spring shows up. Everything, that is, except the busy Chickadees!