Mist Over the Refuge

Ever since I can remember, I have been a lover and an admirer of mist and fog. It softens the landscape and gives an air of mystery to the atmosphere. The terrain is transformed from the familiar into an ever changing fantasy scape.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge – It sits at the Northern edge of Sherwood, OR. Wetland and forest combine to create a habitat for many types of water foul. Geese by the hundreds explode from the ponds and streams and swarm the sky. Grebes and herons fish and stalk their prey in the shallows. Egrets stand like white sentinels over the serene waters. Cormorants line up for their afternoon siestas along dead fallen snags. Overhead can be seen the resident bald eagles which have made this their home. Echoing through the green forest canopy can be heard the trilling song of the Swainsons Thrush. Mink, weasels, deer, rabbits, and a host of other creatures are visible from time to time.

During the hot clear summer months, patches of morning mist will form in the low wetlands. Like a slow surging ocean of cotton it shifts and moves in white fluffy waves across the land. It can form in minutes and dissipates just as quickly. Slithering, rolling, and gliding, it surrounds and envelopes anything in it’s path. The clear rainbow colored sky overhead and the calm, cool, and refreshing morning air makes for a beautiful setting of tranquility and peace.

July 12, 2014 – I parked the car at the refuge parking lot at about 5:15 am. The morning was clear, the air was cool, the sky was a rainbow of colors fading into each other from the eastern horizon and ending in grayish steel blue in the west. The moon hung lazily in the early morning light attempting to outshine the advancing rays of the invisible sun. On the cool morning breeze came the calls of the local birds and water foul. As I headed out across the wetlands the lowland fog was already settling across the tall grasses and ponds, setting the stage for the beautiful dawning of a new day.

I made my way along the service road, stopping now and then to take in the beauty and get some photos. A beautifully shaped oak tree stood alone on the grassy flat, silhouetted against the backdrop of the retreating darkness. Light slowly descended over the hills and was soon illuminating the old dead trees that towered over the refuge. I snapped a few more photos as the sunlight raced across the landscape in a rush to bring new life to the creatures of the earth. Beautiful, quiet, tranquil. I was enamored by the ever shifting mists that slid along the surface of the terrain.

Reaching the end of the mile long walk I headed back through the forest stopping at the Riparian Forest Study Site for a little rest and relaxation. The rays of the early morning sun streamed through the trees, casting a beautiful array of shadows and light along the ground. Settling myself onto one of the benches in the opening I listened to the forest that surrounded me. Birds chirped. Leaves rustled. Insects buzzed. Creation encircled me. What more could I ask for!

For a short space of time I let the tranquility and the solitude of the moment soak into my soul. And then, reaching out with my heart I touched the hand of the Creator.