To the Editor:

Last week, we were finally blessed with a sunny spring day. It was the kind of day that calls you outside to feel the long-awaited warmth.

As I started out on my afternoon walk, I heard the happy shouts of children, a rare but welcome sound during our solitary months in our senior condo here in Altamont. I followed them for a while, a boy with his dog, his younger sister, and Mother following well behind, probably thankful for this brief respite from being inside. A place we all spend too much time in these days. A boy and his dog – a scene from another time, although in my childhood the dog would not be on a leash and the boy would be on his own.

But today I chose to see the positive gift of Mother Nature, who cares not about any pandemic. She just goes on with the tilt of the sun, the longer days, the buds on the trees and birds building nests.

The intermittent gusts of wind were cold and fierce, a contrast to the soothing sun. Trees were blooming in early green-yellow leaves, my artist’s eyes automatically mixing Winsor yellow with Cobalt blue or French Ultramarine with lots of Cad yellow.

The dark green fir trees set off the pastel shades of the deciduous trees and perky dandelions were scattered amongst tiny wild violets. Squirrels zoomed across the road in their daily frenzy to find food.

A rooster crows by the little farm and the man mowing waves to me as I wave back. I want to know his name; someday the opportunity will arise. We’re friendly here on Brandle Road.

I walk as far as the railroad tracks, my turn-around point for now, but I take this feeling of well-being with me. Before I head home, I watch the little family walking their dog. They’re way ahead of me now, but they brought the human element to my “nature walk.” I take this feeling of well-being and gratitude with me, at least for now.

Diane Wozniak

Altamont