Running through Metaphors
Glimpsing clarity
It’s possible that I’m running through metaphors. That’s The Wild Card this week. Read on!
A Patch of Trees
The trail where I most often run (its history featured here) gives me much to see, which means I have pleasing scenes to view while my body exercises and my mind mulls. Over the weekend, I was on my weekly long run when I passed one part of the trail that I always enjoy.
This patch of trees is pretty uniform. It stretches, flat, for about half a mile. It’s one of the peaceful parts of my runs. The west side of the trail here is thickly forested, so dense that during most of the year I cannot see more than a few feet into the trees. Instead, a wall of green greets blocks whatever is in the interior.
I like this spot because it suggests mystery. I imagine the woods providing a sanctuary of sorts, protected from outside intrusions, a world unto its own.
[Another spot on the trail is frankly more interesting and appealing. It’s just as forested, but the trunks and branches are encased in moss so thick the trees look like they are wearing puffy vests. It makes them seem like characters.]
On this day, however, I was shocked at the scrawniness of these trees. I’d forgotten about autumn. These were deciduous trees, and last week’s big storm the day before Election Day stripped them bare.
Instead of an impenetrable mass of trunks and leaves, now I saw how small the trees were. It’s certainly a nice stretch of trees, but they are small, even spindly. Rather than hiding everything within them, they now are bare and open to view. Nothing mysterious here.
The only thing mysterious was what stood beyond them. At 300 or 500 feet away, a dark backdrop portended . . . something. (I think it’s an evergreen forest, but it could be rising hillside.)
Regardless of that distant mirage, I found the transformation of the trees right in front of me clarifying.
The clarifying effect of having their camouflage leaves blown away felt like nature was being a bit on-the-nose during this post-election week.
Clarifying
That word — “clarifying” — has been circling my mind since the election. Many elections are as muddled as they are clarifying. Third parties and the electoral college and gerrymandering have disrupted clear choices since the 1990s with infrequent exceptions.
Not much remained unclear last week.
Just like these naked trees, the nation revealed itself. In aggregate anyway. I know if I walked into those trees, I’d find things I didn’t expect and couldn’t see as I jogged along. It is good to look closely, to examine details. It is also important — and clarifying — to see the big picture and to see what it reveals.
It is time to look squarely at what’s in front of us.
Recoveries
The landscape that made pause is obviously cutover land. Perhaps it was farmed for a time; there are farms, or remnants of them, nearby. But trees have returned. Calling it a forest at this stage feels premature. But recovery may be about direction more than arrival. One thing about long-term recoveries is progress is not always clear in the moment and the consequences and implications can take years to be revealed.
Earlier in my run, something above me distracted attention to my pace. A bald eagle swooped parallel to the trail before veering above the trees to the east. Seeing bald eagles is not uncommon where I live. But whenever I see one, I consider it special. I didn’t grow up seeing them; no one my age did. They were endangered but have made an impressive comeback.
A decade before I was born, barely 400 nesting pairs remained in the Lower 48 states. A national symbol being so rare portends bad things. Legislative protection and banning certain chemicals made a difference. Pollution and decline are often choices; choices can be changed. Today, the number of breeding pairs in the continental United States soars above 70,000.
I rarely remember these precise numbers when I glimpse bald eagles, but the trajectory is always in my mind. And the lesson — change improvement is possible — sticks with me.
Closing Words
Relevant Reruns
My earlier newsletter about this trail may be of interest. When my fourth book came out, I wrote an op-ed about it, pegged to news in spring 2020; it may be worth revisiting, titled “No Sacrifices of the Public Interest in Times of Emergency.”
New Writing
I recently wrote a story about opportunities and challenges of sourcing local agricultural products. It is complicated, and supply chains are fragile. Check it out here.
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Taking Bearings Next Week
I’ll be circling back to The Classroom next week. Stay tuned!
As you know, I am big fan of that section of the Centennial Trail. Have you seen any salmon this year in Pilchuck or the Stilly? We haven't. Plus, it seems that there are far fewer slugs than in previous years.