Alert

Driving over, a new friend sees a bear.

I am all eyes on my walk later.

Two garter snakes out for one last bask on the sunny trail rustle through dry grass—long, dull, and flattened—as if leaving behind their stripes for the winter. Next, I spot a fallen bird’s nest, small, constructed of birch bark and lichens. In the distance, something the color of sandy soil flung from a recently dug hole takes the shape of a deer. Prom-gown purple, aster is everywhere. But what I love most: a witch hazel bloom, like the hair of a cartoon character, sparse and frazzled.