Frost On The Corn Stalks

Tonight as the RRR left for the hour commute to the Big City, Orion was lower on the horizon and has moved to South South West. Pleiades is now North of West at about West North West, and lower also. Spring is coming. But Friday morning... Oh friends what a morning. Mrs. RRR had left early to open the indoor swimming pool and I had leaned back in the recliner with the heating pad over my liver to do my healing meditation. I awakened with the rising sun streaming in the East windows of the cabin. It has been wet and cloudy and dreary. Suddenly the day sparkled. Literally sparkled because a thick coat of frost covered everything.

I quickly dressed and taking my walking stick and dogs slid down the wheelchair ramp from the deck and head across country to the river. The surface of the muddy ground was just frozen enough to bear my weight. The sun glistened and sparkled off the frosty ground and trees dazzling me. We hiked along the creek, then across to the river. I live for tracks and they were everywhere. The deer had been up early and out foraging the last of the corn from the stalks in the fields. Raccoons and muskrats had done foraging of their own and slipped and slid down their runways back to the river. At the edge of the Eagle Sanctuary we turned and climbed up through the woods to my favorite spot on a hill facing East.

The sun, now a hand's breadth above the horizon, was churning the moisture laden air into a glowing fog. The river stretched like a snakey cloud itself toward the horizon. The fog was beginning to rise from the fields as the frost cooked out of them. We went down from the hill along the pastures to another creek, the one where I'd seen the Big Cat sign last week. Then back along it and over to another ridge of timber, then home. One hour and 10 minutes. At the very last the ground was getting gooey and slippery as the frost gave way. I stripped off my jacket and stocking cap and almost skipped up the newly thawed ramp to the cabin.

All days should start so well.