Empty Hope

Before heading to the festivities yesterday, I went to the Mt. Hope park on rte 89. Its a neato lil' place. The first time I went I saw a deer and a lady's slipper. This time I saw a heron, and one other suprise animal. I was walking along a ridge bordering the pond, and heard some motion in the leaves nearby. It sounded a little bit louder than a squirrel. It was being too noisy for a squirrel though, so I took a few steps forward and watched in the general direction of the noise. I was suprised to see a turtle, heading down the ridge for the water. I think the main suprise was not to see a turtle in the woods near a pond but rather to see a turtle several feet up a steep hill to begin with. Maybe I don't give turtles enough athletic credit. Anyhoo, I caught up to the turtle and picked it up carefully. It peed, but I held it head-up so the pee-tactic was ineffective. I probably should have looked at the shell and markings more to appreciate them, but I put the turtle back down and then thought again and put it right next to the water.
I sat for a while on one of the reclining benches and just looked at the sky and trees, then closed my eyes and listened to see what I could hear. A few times I thought I heard music coming on the breeze from very far away and tried to figure out what tune it was. Then I got a James Carter version of a Django song in my head and tried whistling it and imagining the opening guitar line which seems to me harmonically complex.
I, for some time, have had a thesis that there are two things about mosquitos in connecticut. For one, there arent very many of them. For two, the ones there are seem quite unenthusiastic about biting you. The only bugs bugging me in the park were one mosquito who sat on my leg for a good two minutes before getting around to being swatted and some bigger insect like a horsefly that circled my head except when I was sitting in the sunshine being still.
I met three people and two dogs (and a turtle). Two of the dog people had interesting hairstyles and massive piercings.
I happened upon a narrow sandy track that ran along the riverside, apparently used for fishing. I quite like narrow sandy tracks by riversides. I suppose the thing that compensates for the lack of annoying mosquitos is the ticks carrying lyme disease. I can't go romping in the tall grass, of which there is plenty, unless I wear pants. I'd still be creeped out.