Message from the Mountain

March 2026 / Issue #21

The Stillness of the Water

I was feeding the fish from the dock. It had taken me a while to get them to show up, but they were coming...and were they hungry. I was a volunteer at a United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project in Virginia, when I snapped this photo. The approach to the dock was like a landing strip. Occasionally, I would get to see ducks or geese come in on final approach. I could almost hear their chatter, "Quack one-seven this is Web foot 24. We are flapping in on final approach. How copy?" As they glided in and skimmed the water, they made little tiny wakes. Nothing like the big boats that thrashed about, causing tidal waves and bank erosion.

I started feeding fish because I could see them down there, looking up at me. I think they are the water traffic controllers. The eyeballed me with sophistication, darting back and forth, now and then splashing at the surface. I tossed a few crumbs of fish food, and they watched it slowly descend, then "poof" snapped it right up and sped away. It was their way of testing to see if I was legit or just an intrusion. I enjoyed tossing fish food from one side to the other and creating a cacophony of busyness. As I moved around the dock, they followed me. Casting those fish eye glances my way.

I think about that time spent on the dock quite often, and when we get Mobility Mountain up and running, I hope that we have a water feature, for just this type of entertainment. I could only imagine how fun that would be for people to experience. We may even have to put markers out for the final approaches. "Honk, honk, this is Goose-V flight 33, circling for final approach to Mobility Mountain."

It Can't Snow all the Time.

By Jeffrey Pryor

As another foot of snow dropped in my surroundings, I felt blessed to be able to enjoy it. The snow adds so much beauty to an already beautiful landscape. No matter how much I like snow, the seasons are already changing. The Sun is sticking around a bit longer, the snow is melting quicker and the birds are hanging out more often.

I look at the photo of the daisies and I remember the day. It was warm, but breezy, almost downy-soft and smelled like rain. Spring was in full bloom and everything was green, red, yellow, and white. It's a shame that Spring is so short. Like an on-time freight train, it is on the way, and as such, we should prepare for it, however you do that. A funny sidebar, my uncle Bob had a friend Leon, who lived in California. One day Leon came to Missouri, to visit. It was winter and the trees has shed all of their leaves.

Leon walked out into the yard, and in all seriousness, asked, " What is up with all of these stick trees?" I looked at Leon quizzically, as my uncle replied, "Leon, it's Winter here. The trees lose their leaves in Missouri." Around my area here in beautiful West Virginia, most of the tree have no leaves, but those pines...still as beautiful as ever. Thanks for reading and stay warm.