Pie Dough, Erik and Elizabeth’s dog, and I walked through the field today towards the beehives and along the old, barbed wire fence that somewhat harnesses our 3 acre woods. I wish I could describe accurately what was going on in that small eco system. The smell of fall was the first thing apparent. It was a pleasant smell of nature transitioning from the bloom of summer, from the rich flora and sap to a mustier smell of pulling back and quieting down. There were quite noises and slight movements that you could not hear from the road or as a passerby; you “had to be there”. Diminutive birds moving golden leaves or branch hopping from one to the other, looking for food and hiding from demise. The leaves would drop, one at a time, slowly drifting and succumbing to the season. I could hear the rustle and see the colorful pilings on the ground, pilings of organic matter that decompose to make the floor of the woods nutritious. There were butterflies fluttering through the nearly bare trees and overgrown bushes, pollinating wild berries and meadow flowers.
All that I saw and heard were little patrons of Mother Nature, doing what they have always done, contributing to Planet Earth…. little jobs that sometimes go unnoticed but, many times, matter more than many big jobs we do.