Don't worry. My memory is still intact. I know the correct words to that carol are "and heaven and nature sings..." But one of my observations in living at, and walking the paths around the Thomas Center, is that city and wilderness meet all the time. It's still a little weird but I'm getting used to it.
Thomas Center is at the corner of Tudor and Lake Otis, one of the busiest intersections in Anchorage and about 10-15 minutes from the airport. Day and night we hear sounds from the road, which has included several weeks of overnight maintenance work and sirens all the time (we are a few blocks from two hospitals). Day and night we hear sounds from the air, which includes commercial and cargo planes (and due to current runway renovations, we are in a direct flight path).
But we are not complaining. Not one bit. On this morning's walk, we saw a moose for the 22nd time! (Kathleen's been keeping a record). We also saw our first salmon in Campbell Creek which runs along our regular route. (It has been a very slow year for salmon). When we got back, we found today's paper (see attached photo from front page) featured a front lawn scene from a hillside home near a middle school, which is rare even by Anchorage standards. And this afternoon, we had our closest moose encounter yet. The attached photo was taken through our living room window. (If you're on facebook, you can see the video I took, which Kathleen posted. At the end, I come face to face with our neighbor, separated only by glass).
Yes it's a strange and dissonant duet....walking along a beautiful path while hearing a babbling creek and cars speeding on the overpass above. But it's all part of the experience of this "summer in the city" where sirens and nature sings.
But wait.....there's more. Just twenty minutes in any direction from where we live, we are suddenly and wonderfully in the wilderness, just wilderness, where heaven and nature sings.
John
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