It was time again today to retrain for teaching winter classes at Five Rivers. I spent the morning plodding through what remains of the snow in search of tracks and other signs of animal activity, with a group of fellow volunteers and our expert instructor. As ever, it only took five minutes studying and observing to leave me awestruck by nature's glorious efficiency - everything interdependent and evolved to survive together in the existing conditions, nothing going to waste. The natural world is the definition of sustainablity. How did we humans as a species manage to adapt ourselves so far out of kilter with this perfect system?
On a more basic level, the other lesson I learnt today was "Dress warmly". You'd think I'd know that by now, wouldn't you? Well, it's not like I was out there in a swimsuit. I had on thick trousers, thick socks, snowboots, a down jacket with a fleece under it and a long-sleeved thing under that, hat, scarf, gloves - enough, I'd assumed, especially given that it was above freezing today. But what's fine if you're constantly moving (snowshoeing, sledding, skiing) doesn't work so well if you need to stand around examining rabbit chews and squirrel stores. So next time I'll wrap up in even more layers, and I'll also be very aware of just how cold my students (and there's always at least one who's inadequately dressed) are likely to be getting.
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