Happy

A new season of life

I awake to the orange waning gibbous moon setting in the west, reflected on a framed picture on the wall. The last light of the night is the first light of the day. I lay in bed with Annie and the dogs, as Dozer climbs up on my chest. We watch the rising sun brush streaks of gold and pink across the sky. A bald eagle soars over the river. I’m happy.

As the snow flies, birds gather at the feeders. Cardinal, Northern flicker, house finch, black-capped chickadee, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, American goldfinch, European starling, white-breasted nuthatch, and mourning dove. I sit at the morning table with coffee, binoculars, and my journal. I’m happy.

I step out into the first big snowstorm of the year. I have 45lbs in my rucksack and head into the woods to put the first human tracks down in the fresh snow. I count eighteen bald eagles along the frozen river, many of them juveniles. I come across a beaver’s handiwork, and I have a close encounter with a white-tailed deer. I loop the five miles through the trees as the snow continues to fall. On the way back, my footprints from an hour earlier are completely covered as I trudge through ankle-deep snow. I’m happy.