Looking Forward

Day 80: New Year's Day morning wasn't quite as rosy as I'd hoped, but any day you can see the Mountain is a good day. Although there's no substance to omens and portents, I will offer one up by saying that this bodes well for the coming year. In words from the Pixar film "Up," "Adventure is out there!" and I'll be looking for it under rocks, on mountaintops, in swamps, on trail and off. There is always something new to find (or new to me at least, and that's what counts). Will Myrio sprout in abundance again this year? Will the Phantoms return? Can I possibly justify a road trip to Mount Adams to search for Drosera anglica, the "other" Sundew native to Washington?

We tend to become somewhat myopic when surrounded by events like those of 2017, and it's difficult to focus our vision as we look forward. I find myself having to use a magnifier to bring the picture into view when you'd think a telescope would be better suited to the task of seeing far ahead. For me, it is the small, neglected bits of beauty in Nature which inspire my forward progress. In them, I find the compass I require to keep me on track and out of the sinkhole of despair. One lichen, one tiny flower, one botanical mystery, and all else pales in my mind's eye. We all need such helpers as these. I hope you will find yours as we look forward to 2018. Happy New Year!