Hanging by a Thread

Hanging by a Thread will give us a sip of sweet summer’s passing. This is an Alum Creek Lake cache placed by Long_Lost_Cacher.

As August unwinds toward the brisk days of September, even Daddy Longlegs is rushing. Crickets and katydids follow suit, packing their instruments and leaving the bright summer stage. Their deafening cadence departs, preparing us for snowy silence.

Now we are deep into the woods. Scarlet leaves flash previews of explosion into fall fireworks, brief consolation for the brown forest months ahead.

Ground Zero is on target. Happily in this wild place, the thread is hanging as it should. Pumped from deep within the earth, oil is fashioned by the human into a plastic container, then linked to these yet young trees, and so joins in the natural symphony.

Turning homeward, two shortcuts across sandbars would return us more quickly. Should we venture down and up these slippery slopes, then hope to hit the trail again?

The vote is in, and down the slopes we creep. If one goes, we all go. As promised, we are hanging by a thread. The camaraderie of the search and the excitement of the find carry us through thorns and burrs until we hit . .. . what is this called again? . . . ah, yes, black top.