From The Heights. #11

Good morning to everyone on this very foggy Saturday! It is mid morning and it is still very foggy out there. Earlier I could just make out the houses across the street, now I can see slightly beyond them but not quite to the next street. It has not been foggy like this for a very long time. It is supposed to be sunny today though and the fog is supposed to be gone already. Oh well.

I was hoping to take some pictures this morning. Perhaps this afternoon. One time I walked down to the river while it was foggy, much like it is today. It was kind of eerie walking along through the trees, not being able to see very clearly, or very far. And it was quiet, so very quiet. The ground was moist and even though the path was covered with newly fallen leaves, they were soft and made no noise at all while I walked along.

Looking down the street away from my apartment building.

I would stop and look around. Not a sound anywhere, even the birds were quiet. At one point I spotted some chickadees, nuthatches and a brown creeper foraging among the trees. But they made no sound whatever. Usually they are calling to each other as they foraged. Not that day. They were quiet as could be. It was so strange.

I would stop and take pictures of mushrooms, lying down on the wet ground to get closer to them. It seemed to feel so strange doing that, yet on sunny days I never gave it a thought. But that day was different. I doubt I would hear a bear come along, especially if it was on the path. At that time I had no bear spray. I did buy some the next spring.

A broader view of the street.

When I finally got to the river there was a lady sitting on the bench with her little dog. I had met her several times so I naturally said “Good morning” to her. She jumped off the bench, holding her little dog. Then she saw it was me. She nearly had a heart attack. Neither of them heard me coming. We sat down together and talked for about 20 minutes, then we both left.

By that time the fog was lifting nicely and the birds were now chirping again. Interesting that the birds remained quiet while the fog was so thick, one would think that would be a good time to chirp to each other. But then, at a time like that, any noise would attract the attention of predators. Even predators would have trouble seeing well in such heavy fog.

The next street over from mine.

Tomorrow I will not have an internet connection until 2pm. The whole town will be without electricity for 8 hours. They need to do some upgrades to our power station. So I will be staying indoors during that time since the elevators will not be working and I do not plan on walking down the stairs. My knees would never handle that. Minor details. Well, I hope you all have a nice relaxing weekend and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.