Remember To Look Up

So, we were driving slowly (the automobile equivalent of ambling) along the road at the Quabbin Reservoir on Monday, when we saw a man standing at the side of the road. He had an enormous zoom lensed camera aimed up toward the treetops and sky. My first thought was eagle. I peered up and instead of an eagle, I thought I saw a nest. But my eyes couldn’t resolve anything useful. Chuck pulled the car over and I walked back down the road. The well equipped photographer had already driven off. As Chuck caught up with me, this is what we saw:


Much clearer, right? Yeah, not so much. It was former Boy Scout Chuck who first sorted out what was so interesting. It was a porcupine. He was dining on tree bark. If it hadn’t been for the first photographer, we would have driven by, completely unaware of Mr. or Ms. Porcupine’s lunch spot du jour.


They say if you walk around a big city, looking up at the skyscrapers, mouth and eyes open in wonder and awe, you will immediately be pegged as a tourist. No doubt. But in the forest, who cares? You never know what you might find.