“I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches. — From Robert Frost’s “Birches”

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We walked a new trail in early March (high temp 40F, low temp 2F), with a large group of other snowshoers and walkers; the snow was deep in some places but not on the snowmobile trail we were walking, so boots were OK. This was a 386-acre parcel of land that’s in the process of being purchased and permanently protected in the town of Grantham, NH, whose citizens on 12 March voted overwhelmingly to appropriate $300,000 in town funds, to be matched with state and private funds, to acquire and protect the property. An additional $215,000 needs to be raised through private sources.

Here’s some of the group, which numbered 25-30 in all.

The snow was deepish in places but not on the snowmobile trail, though obviously deep enough for snowmobiles to traverse.

It was one of those blue-sky days.

As usual, I was focused on patterns and on (cherry) tree bark.

This arched tree and its shadow looks like an eye with eyelashes, right?

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Featured image: snow, scrub, rocks, trees, view
This is one in a series of posts revisiting field trips taken from January to June 2019, as described here.