restoration

If you've been reading my blog longer than a year, you may remember that our backyard conservation area all along the river underwent an extensive excavation as they worked on replacing and adding to underground pipes that travel for huge stretches all around our neighborhood. They put up orange construction fencing which prevented entry to the river at all points.
It was a sad twelve months.
But then in early fall, the fencing came down, and many days of adding topsoil, grading and smoothing the dirt began. The dirt was given time to rest. Then one day, a hydro-seed truck pulled in and sprayed the whole area an unnatural green. Weeks later, grass had sprung up unevenly.
We ventured out on baby grass and walked all the way to the weir and on a newly created walking path through the woods.
It was a good day.
But that was the last time I was out there. I don't know why exactly.
Today, I took the garbage outside myself and then slipped open the latch at the back gate and started walking toward the swimming geese. The clouds began to part and the sun began to shine. Crystals of snow glittered on the ground and on the tree branches. Baby trees offered their boughs to the mounds of snowflakes nesting where they fell. Other than the occasional squirrel dashing through the snow, the gaggle of river-riding geese were the only other creatures visible.
My camera hand was aching with cold. It was time to go in, for now.