While hiking through the woods, I am having a Rachel Carson “silent spring” moment. It’s early fall, nature is still beautiful, albeit a bit dry. There are no birds chirping, no squirrels, no snakes, just an annoying horse fly and a few mosquitoes. The fern gully is bone dry; all ferns have turned rusty brown from lack of rain. I finally spot a few small fishes darting about in the yellowish creek water. Continue reading