Finding the Enchanted Woods!

  It was such a beautiful day on the Bayou that I had a bit of a "spring" moment.  The cold and drear is set to return tomorrow and follow for the week after.  Today, however, saw me clearing out the greenhouse in preparation for seed-starting.  Michael helped me to assemble some neat wire shelving that shall hold the seed trays and any other items that are needed in the early gardening stages.  While he and I were busy enjoying the sunshine, the birds were busy making nesting plans.  It dawned on me that one pair of birds was making a lot louder noises than the others.  Time to grab the camera!  A pair of eagles was on the wing with their courtship!  

  Since the birds were doing most of their wooing over near my brother's place, I traipsed across his yard.  As I did, the majestic birds moved even further west.  Now, they were over the overgrown homestead that used to be my aunt and uncle's place.  Well, a bit of brush never bothered me before, so it sure was not going to bother me now!  I pushed back some vines and entered under the small pines.  

  Wow!  If the birds were not still screaming overhead, I could have fully forgotten why I had stepped in here in the first place.  An Enchanted Forest wrapped around me and brought such a unearthly feeling over me.  I stood totally captivated by the beauty.  A heavy carpet of pine needles covered the ground.  This used to be green, green grass of their lawn.  Small pine trees just above my head shaded the sunlight sending bright beams to the mini-forest floor. Birds were twittering and darting from branch to branch. A lone squirrel fussed at me from a distance.  I had intruded into their space but I was too awed to ease back out of the forest of young trees. This place was breathtaking if you are a nemophilist like myself.  Even though, I was there for only a short time, I felt as if I belonged.  It was almost as if I had come home.  

  Now for that fine word...Nemophilist...I had no idea that there was even such a word to describe someone like me.  I happened upon the word late this evening and curiosity got the best of me.  The dictionary defines the word as such...Nemophilist-(n)-a haunter of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude.....Yep, that pretty much describes me...especially in woods like the Enchanted Woods that I found today.  How ironic, yet how appropriate, that I discovered the Enchanted Woods and the word that describes my love of the forest all in the same day!