Transition to May with a Garter Snake

May 5, 2025 at 3:45pm
Glacier National Park – Oxbow Trail
55 degrees and sunny

Field Camp is slowly opening and will host its first course on Saturday, May 17: the lovely Harlequin Duck course with Lisa Bate. Who knew that one day back in March I’d be writing a blog post about staff arriving at Big Creek, and the next about Field Camp opening—with my own staff soon to arrive on the 27th? I feel so thankful for all the sunlight during this transition.

Just the other day, I was fortunate enough to take a short walk in the woods. The Oxbow Trail in Glacier National Park, a short bike ride from Field Camp, is one of my favorite hiking trails. It’s not strenuous by any means—more of a bite-sized outdoor experience. I spent an hour sketching everything I noticed in the landscape… from violets to red squirrels—and wrote a short piece. Here’s a little glimpse of that time:snake silently slithers

basking in the sunlight
would you do the same?

the soothing sound of the river’s flow
the harmonious cassin’s vireo pair calling back and forth

slap slap slap slap
i feel the thumping in my chest

ruffed grouse attracts not just its mate
but my attention too

the low shhhh in the distance—
is it the river’s flow or the wind whistling in my ears?

the light cool air on my cheek
still with hints of winter on the mountain peaks
dusted with remnants of seasons past

oh so soon there will be no reminder
but only more new beginnings ahead

do the flies—buzz buzzing—know that too?

it’s not silence i hear
the world is so alive
life is buzzing:
birds, bees, wind, water…

and me.

i am too, silently slithering,
basking in the sunlight.