Moments in Nature

1. Joel and I hiking in Santiago. At the top, we sit, just the two of us, on rocks. Stare out at the sky. A bird in the distance. Circling closer. We turn to one another. “That’s a condor.” It is. A magical silence as we stand and watch in awe.

2. One week in Ushuaia before my ship leaves for Antarctica. A week pass purchased for the trails in Tierra Del Fuego. A path along the water that crosses the border between Chile and Argentina. Pesos of each country left at the marker. An animal coming toward me. My gait slows as he approaches. We greet each other tentatively, him circling me, sniffing, me, mouth agape, not fear, wonder. The grey wolf looks me in the eyes once before carrying on. I turn and watch as he disappears. The reason I prefer to hike alone.

3. The third day out in the zodiacs. The ship silhouetted in the sky behind us. A tour of the icebergs. We watch chinstrap penguins slide into the water, skuas fly overhead, a Weddell seal pass beneath the boat. But we are patient. Then, just in front of us, a blue whale surfaces. The ocean splashes in. It glides along with us, close enough to touch. Silence.

4. Early morning weeding in my backyard. The kitty’s lounge in the already warm grass. Footsteps rustle the leaves on the ground. A deer jumps over the fence. Nudges the fallen apples with her nose. She has been here before.