Hiking in March is challenging in many ways. The trails are often wet and muddy as the earth thaws. The temperature can vary across a 40 degree spectrum. And no matter how desperate I am to find green sprouts or new leaves – any sign of life returning to the world – it’s just not there.
Until finally it is.
But it wasn’t there on this day, no matter how carefully I searched the forest floor or the trail side. The only green came from the moss, itself winter-beaten and faded.
In two more weeks, there may be wildflowers dotting the forest; in four more weeks, they will almost certainly be present. But until then, the palette remains cast in shades of brown.