A Walk In The Woods

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The snow that was falling when we got up stopped, leaving us with a sky of clouds. The clouds soon began to break up and by ten the sky was clear and the sun shone brightly. At noon we decided to take a walk. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that from IBTS northward for some 18 kilometers the Sarka Valley has been set aside and designated as a natural reserve. Throughout the reserve there are many paths and at least one narrow road.

We set out on our hike and soon discovered the trail ran along the northern side of the valley which meant it had been in the shade all the time we have been here. Since there have been only two days without snow the path and road we hiked was very icy. The ice was quite rough as others had hiked when it was snow covered, so it was not as slick or dangerous as glare ice is to the walker. The trail runs beside the small Sarecky creek that through the eons has carved out this narrow valley. Since we knew it was a natural preserve we were surprised to find here are a few houses in the valley that still have people living in them. One in particular caught our eye. Part of the structure appeared quite old and a stone wall running from the house along the hillside looked absolutely ancient. This valley has been inhabited for thousands of years and yet it now shows few marks of human habitation. We are looking forward to seeng what wildflowers and ferns come up this spring when warm weather arrives. There is a marsh near the seminary. We are curious to see what types of European birds inhabit marshy areas here. Are there European Redwinged Blackbirds? On the way home we saw a large flock of small birds eating seeds in several large trees. When we approached them we saw they were finches. They wrere not as bright as our Gold Finche, but were a pretty yellow. We need to have our friend Gladys Lambert on our walks as she could tell us what birds we are seeing.

Nancy-The biggest sign of ‘human habitation’ was the large number of fellow hikers we met on the trail. For about 30 minutes we saw only snow covered hills and paths, our own icy path, the beautiful stream, enormous moss covered rocks and the odd house along the other side of the stream. We heard only our own voices or the lovely sound of water running over rocks as it tumbled down the valley. Then we started to see a man here, a woman there, then whole families walking or sledding together along the paths. It was obvious this is a place many people enjoy. It is amazing to realize it is only a 8 minute bus ride from heavily populated downtown Prague to this pristine wilderness. Some of the trails off the main ‘road’ through the valley were so inviting that we would start to climb up and then realize there was not going to be any safe or graceful way to get back down to the path home. So, we will leave our wandering until this icy cover melts.

Since the weather report says we will have clear days for the next several days with temperatures falling into the single digits, I doubt if much melting will occur during February. We can imagine how lovely the pathways will be in spring when there are leaves on the trees, ferns and wild flowers on the hillsides, etc. We are glad we are first seeing it stark and bare except for the snow. It will be such fun to see things change as the seasons change.

After the walk I was so refreshed that I didn’t even need an afternoon nap to help me stay awake and working in the library until 9 p.m. I hope I can have a good walk each day. It’s more fun than sleeping!

As I am writing this it is already Saturday Feb. 5, ‘05 and it is Bill’s 65th birthday. We find we are probably the youngest retirees here as volunteers. At least so far everyone who has told me their age is at least 5 years older than we. We hope that means we will be able to continue with traveling and volunteering and learning more about our world for years to come. But right now we are thankful for our health and for these birthdays which keep adding up the years. Tonight we are supposed to be part of a talent show. We will be reading a poem and telling a story. I don’t think that is very ‘talented’. But I doubt if they want the room to empty as fast as it would if we tried to sing, dance, do magic or any of the other standard talent show acts.

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Photos

An icy trail in the woods
The trail was very slippery as it was covered with several inches of ice.

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Just wanted to say have a very Happy Birthday Bill. We hope you have many many more. Your e mails to us, have made us feel as though we were right there alongside of you. Keep them coming. Miss you but I can tell you are having a terrific time. Love, Tom and Jo - Tom and Jo Ann