It rained this afternoon and I went for a walk. I saw five ospreys hunting. Two reached down and pulled silver fish from beneath the green scarf of the lake. There were mergansers. There was a pileated woodpecker and then a newt with an orange belly. How some people feel about newborn babies is how I feel about newts. I am helpless with compassion. They are without fur, tooth, or claw. They move with deliberate care, and so slowly.
