I have spent quite a lot of time in Acadia National Park (a short drive from my home) over the past 13 years that I’ve lived here, and I can easily count the times that I’ve seen wildlife other than birds and squirrels. I see deer now and then; a few times I’ve seen baby porcupines; twice I’ve seen hares and a fox; and one time each I saw a coyote and a bat (inexplicably snoozing on a rock).

I was in Acadia right after a snowstorm recently. It was breathtaking. The snow sparkled in the sun. There were walls of icicles hanging over rocks and a frozen waterfall. There were also dozens of animal tracks. I followed a fox track for miles, spotted countless deer tracks, mouse tracks, and snowshoe hare tracks. And then there were the several porcupine tracks that look startlingly like tire tracks in the snow. There were also myriad coyote tracks that had led to large coyote gatherings. And this was just one day after the snowstorm.

I only saw a few actual animals, and they were the ubiquitous squirrels and birds, but I realized just how many live in Acadia and walk the same paths as I. I wondered what it would take for me to actually see these denizens of Acadia. I’m sure I’d have more luck arriving at dawn or waiting until dusk, rather than coming in the (relative) warmth of midday, but even then, I would have to slow down and stay very quiet. My husband once saw tracks in the snow of an otter who had roamed up steep rocks and then slid down them, over and over again, criss-crossing a headland in Acadia that juts out into the Atlantic. But, he never saw the otter, despite having arrived before dawn to take photographs of the rising sun and its lovely light on the snow and ice.

I know now that these animals are always there. To see so many tracks within 24 hours of a snowfall revealed just how invisible they choose to be. I like to think I’ll become more observant, that I’ll hunker down and patiently wait. I like to think that the animals will show themselves if I watch and listen in silence.

What does this have to do with MOGO living? From our reverence grows our respect and sense of responsibility. When we fall in love with the natural world, we are moved to protect and restore it. The soft snow made the invisible visible and told me the beginning of a story that I hope to hear now in full. I care more because I’ve experienced more, because my heart sang with joy that day.

It’s so important that all of us leave the built world for the natural world now and again, and even more important that we ensure that our children do this regularly. It is in the real world of nature that we often find ourselves moved to make the MOGO choices for a sustainable, peaceful, and humane future for all species.

~ Zoe

Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), reverence | Tagged: Acadia National Park, animal protection, animal tracks, animals, Environmental Preservation, Maine, natural world, nature, respect, responsibility, reverence, snow, wildlife | Comments Off