A snow day from the past and a foraging deer Photo: Ileana Johnson |
A bag of peanuts in the shell is awaiting by the door. It’s
too wet to trudge through the mud to feed the two resident squirrels, my treat
for them for the new year. They are going to have to wait until the rain stops and
make do with their daily foraging. They hid enough acorns in my flower beds to
keep them for the winter.
I open the windows to air the rooms out – a European habit
many Americans dislike – why waste a perfectly warm and cozy room and fill it
with cold and humid air?
The neighbor’s Christmas lights are still on, twinkling, casting
a reddish glow in the rain.
A foghorn blew on the distant river. Who was brave enough
to take out a boat in this weather? Perhaps a duck hunter. I am not sure hunting
ducks is in season yet.
On the first Sunday in January, that is tomorrow, the
January firearms deer season begins and ends on January 31. One half hour
before sunrise until one half hour after sunset, my deer family will be in
grave danger. The required fluorescent orange and fluorescent pink clothing
will be easy to spot by humans among the shades of brown in the woods. The deer
can see yellow, blue, and grey colors but are not very sensitive to dark and
bright colors like orange, pink, red, and black.
The woods are quiet, only silent to those unable to hear its
pulse. It is alive with sound and dormant fall colors. Last night creatures
went into hiding, frightened by the celebratory fireworks that continued way
into the morning.
The rain drips off the roof, cleansing the driveway and making
it more difficult for the squirrels to dig out their nuts.
The Canada geese are sleeping at the edge of the pond,
huddled in their flock, small figures in the dim light of the heavy and steady
rain.
The streets are empty, humans are still asleep, wrapped in
their warm slumber, tired of the night’s revelries.
Welcome to the first day of 2022, another ordinary day in
nature – rain and fog, full of life and miracles. Hopefully the Fog, Flu, and
Fright will lift this year permanently, letting sun and the truth disinfect the
falsehoods.
64 degrees F and sunny yesterday in my area of Eastern Kansas bordering Missouri. Welcome to my "neck of the woods", today it is 17 degrees F, feels like 3 degrees the weather says, NNE wind 15 mph and snow and sleet falling. Ahhhhh...nature. Saw a bunny hopping about this morning, a few squirrels, and a lot of birds at my feeder, all in a big city. Nearby, my son saw a big "family" of deer as he came home to his house from his night job, in a churchyard across from a cemetery...in the city so no hunting allowed.
ReplyDeleteThe year Flu over the cuckoo's nest :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Paul! You are right!
DeleteI finally started to read your blogs. Now that I have, I regret not having done so right away. That bad habit has changed. I enjoy your work. Very enjoyable--thank you.
DeleteHappy New Year AMERICA! CHICOM PLANDEDMIC has been a curse, unlike any other previous wars against the Land of the Free....I wish that 2022 starts without the communist mask, the symbol of oppression and that Washington DC will be resettled with patriots and finally would consider TERM LIMITS FOR ALL....LET'S GO BRANDON!
ReplyDeleteWonderful relaxing article of living.
ReplyDelete- Carmel in Mississippi
Happy New Year 2022
ReplyDeleteWonderful writing.
Our custom is to leave Christmas decorations and lights on till Epiphany, then pull out the boxes to put them away till next Christmas.
- Dolly G.