By the Spring in the Woods

Water in the hidden spring in the Lanark woods bubbles up to the surface all year long, and provides clear cold drinking water for the deer, coyotes and wolves, even in the depths of winter. The spring comes up through several hundred feet of granite and is only a few degrees above freezing, even on the hottest day of the year.

During the summer, I enjoyed perching on a rock nearby and watching vents in the spring basin opening and closing like small volcanoes, sending little puffs of sand and jets of water to the clear surface. Yesterday, one could see active vents here and there, but the spring was carpeted with fallen leaves, and water coming up from deep underground was freezing almost as quickly as it emerged on the surface. The patterns created by the chance meeting of sunlight, leaves, shadows and freezing water were stunning - semi-abstract creations in which the reflected blue sky formed an intense and vibrant background.

Winter has not arrived in the north yet, but she is definitely on her way, and she is somewhere close by - yesterday, I could hear her breathing just beyond the ridge, and her breath was icy cold.