Twilight Ramble

Have you ever responded to nature's
irresistible invitation to venture
out into the woods after one of her
non-stop rainfalls to walk along
the forest trails, foliage sodden
and quietly dripping, the cardinal
singing its last trill of the day and
mist rising before you lending an
air of mystery to the landscape
itself a vibrant melange of early
spring greens, colour fading in and
out with the mist and the incoming
shade of dusk. On the forest floor
parade newly-emerged woodland
wildflowers, shy and lovely in their
pastel hues. An utterly bewitching
arras in miniature echoing the larger
landscape in which all sits; the
forest, its dense canopy, its understory
of dogwood and spirea, the bracken
seated below, inviting a photograph
to capture the vision your memory
will fail to accurately etch, and you
bend your attention to framing the
photo, realizing all too late the
sinister company of tiny winged
bloodsuckers crowding your face.