A week’s worth of sunny weather has turned all the snow on the Outer Point Trail to ice. This doesn’t cause a problem for the little dog or I as long as I wear my ice cleats. Her claws keep her safe. It’s a quiet place. No squirrels or Jays scold Aki. While crossing the ice-covered beaver pond we hear a flock of Canada geese fly overhead. Then it is quiet again. 

            I stop often to listen for bird song. Otherwise I couldn’t hear a crow’s creaky caw over the sound of the cleats biting into the ice. Until we reach the beach there is no caw to be heard. Just a profound silence, itself a beautiful song. 

            The beach is almost empty of ducks or gulls when we reach it. Here though, we do hear crow complaints. An Alaska ferry cruises past Lena Point on its way to Haines.  Between the beach and the ferry a large raft of scoters changes formation like a high school drill team.