A fragile bog reaches into the lake on the eastern shore. In this wet, otherworldly landscape, the mat of sphagnum moss slowly and continually grows upward and outward, all the while sinking to form a dense mat of peat. Only acid-loving plants can grow in this unusual environment. Labrador tea fills the air with its robust scent and wild cranberry trails among the sphagnum. Stunted hemlocks try their hand at growing in a place that s not quite land and not quite water, where 50 years must pass before an inch of peat accumulates.
Stillness reigns among the dark reflections of little Springer Lake.
Then a fish breaks the surface and a breeze follows, scattering reflections to the wild edges. A tiny disturbance in the calm. I think about the evidence of other disturbances I ve seen today, like storms and the seasonal rise and fall of the water level. These disturbances pulse through as part of the life-giving cycles of renewal and decay. These disturbances come, and don t go away.