I went out in the snow. It felt brisk. I first noticed a large white bird. I tried to get a closer look to identify and take a picture but it flew away before I could get the chance. It could have been a bald headed wading bird. It was beautiful and majestic. I had just bought a birds guide book for the birds of Vermont so I was ready to identify bird species when I got the chance. Probably due to the cold weather there weren’t many birds flying around. I couldn’t hear as many songs. There was a change, it was starting to feel more like winter. The environment around me appeared more bleak. I observed there were less leaves on the ground and they had blown into the water; there was more leaf litter in the stream.
There were bunches of needles attached to branches
Eastern white pines has lost their limbs
branches flew on hemlocks adjacent to them.
There were branches and twigs splattered on the ground
It felt more bleak
The brown ferns had disappeared
The ones still there withered
Leaves curled up and shriveled
There’s less moss on the logs
Mushrooms are all gone
Environment is responding to change