I walk a familiar forest, by myself.

Today I felt it was the right time to go back to the Clifford E. Lee Nature Reserve, but by myself for the first time.

It was 17 degrees, sunny and calm. And of course, very quiet. About halfway around my favourite loop, I had to take my coat off. Second week of March, that was pretty neat.

The chickadees were ever present of course, coming to sit on the closest branch to the trail, then leaving after a few seconds when they determined that I was not holding out my hand with a few nuts and seeds in my palm.

Lez and I tried this walk last spring, almost a full year ago. But her ability to balance herself and to visualize the ups and downs of the trail were too difficult for her. We turned around after about one hundred meters.

After a while, I found myself speaking Dutch slowly to myself. It was as if I was guiding some Dutch relatives through the reserve and explaining what we were seeing. I was trying my best to recall the Dutch words for poplar, aspen, birch, tamarack, prairie rose, chickadee, squirrel, deer, moose and coyote.

And of course to point out the smell, that prairie smell I love so much, made up of mostly poplar and prairie grass odours.

It felt good and I did not slip once on the still icy trails.