Secret Treasure #2

Just beyond a clover patch and to the west of a small field there once stood a hog feeding barn. It burned long before we came here. And nature has taken back over. At the edge of the area stands a deer stand my husband built when he lived here with his father. Nature has taken over there too. But if you make your way in and past the barn a secret tiny clearing is waiting. It is much like I imagine going into an untamed jungle would be like. Vines cover over head, sun light filtering through. A machete needed to make it in. And out.

But if you look closely you see you are not the first creature to enter here. Deer beds, paw and hoof prints. Deer bones. Droppings. This is, was, some thing's home. Home still to many loud frogs, and toads. Birds of many colors. Maybe a deer still, unseen to us.

This is a secret treasure. A dense piece of woods. And just beyond the too thick thicket another lagoon.

This one more marshy, more like a swamp. Full with frog eggs. We hear them as we approach but the sound stops suddenly. Of course they hear us. Two small excited boys. A girl in her element. A man forging a path in for us all. Whack whack. "Water!" "STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER!" Sounds we bring with us.

Twisted vines grown around limbs. Too many trees down from storms in the past year. And new trees pushing their way up to the sun light that is filtered through.

Another secret treasure, to savor.