April Walk

NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

April is almost over, and we have not yet taken an April "Walk with Me Wednesday."

Today is the day for it, sunny and warm, but windy.

This walk takes us back into the canyons of the hidden world.

The dawn is showing over the ridge and highlighting the buds on the Mountain Mahagony at the edge of Sedillo Canyon.

This time, we took the west fork,

walking north along the bed of Sedillo Creek.

Deeper into the canyon, the sunlight

does not yet reach the dry ground.

Crossing the at the meeting with the east branch

of Sedillo Creek, we turn south again,

following the east branch back up canyon.

The canyon bottom here is rocky and thick with

vegetation that is barely greening with spring.

Still, some signs of the changing season

are apparent in the sheltered canyon wall.

Here is the spring burrow of a rodent.

Who knows? Young may be growing

in there, sheltered under the bank.

As we climb south towards the meadow,
the sun finally reaches the height
where it can shine into the canyon,
changing the forbidding feel of the pre-dawn
into a play of light and shadow across our path.

We break out into the meadow,

where deep swales of greening grass

reveal the source of the east branch

of Sedillo Creek. A short walk along

the new grass of the meadow path,

and it's home for breakfast,

our April walk complete!

Pictures by Elisheva Levin and N., April 23 and 30, 2008.