…the soul is the arrow, and Brahma is the target. I listened to Siddharta, by Hermann Hesse, recently and it really warmed my heart. In his quest for enlightenment, Siddharta learns to wait, and fast, and think but it is not until Vasudeva, the ferryman, teaches him to listen to the river, that he finds it. I thought of that today and spent some time in the late afternoon meditating and listening to the Scuppernong River… Ooooooommmmmmmmm.

The sand hill cranes are back at The Springs along with migrating geese and ducks. I felt like I was intruding when I showed up this morning with my gear and flushed them from the comfort of the river.

This buckthorn along the trail has got to go!

Anne, from Waterville, and her friend Terri (or Terry) arrived around mid-day clad in snowshoes to explore the newly opened cut-off trail. Later, Dan and Lou Ann Brown, who hike often at the Hartland Marsh, emerged from the cut-off trail after their first passage. The’ve been coming to the Springs for over 30 years and really like the new look.

After a good days work, the buckthorn is almost all cleared in the area between the cut-off trail and the river on the west end of the trail.

I took some time to relax and listen to the river in the late afternoon.

Sunset at the Indian Springs.

See you at the Springs!