Monday, December 3, 2012,
4:15-5 p.m.
Earlier today Canada geese in
ragged Vs were flying northwest instead of south, and now in late afternoon the
breeze is still from the south. Light is muted, colors dull, edges soft. The wind
sets a brisk pace, but remains gentle and almost warm. Up on Claudia’s hill,
the lilac buds are swelling green, as if they think spring has arrived. Winter
is off to a strange beginning.
In an uncultivated edge of
field between the old chicken house and the new orchard, trees begin to emerge
from the grasses and weeds, amid brambles and small, wild shrubs also
proliferating. For the past several years, a chance-sown pine has been growing
on the property line. Its pointed tip was lost to a March blizzard, but the
rest of the tree—that which remains--is dark, full, and healthy. Closer to the
chicken house, a second pine has more recently emerged. It is the same species
as the first--red pine--but so much younger that it looks like a different kind of tree
altogether. The pines are undeterred by spotted knapweed and don’t mind
competing with red twig dogwood and wild blackberries.
Except for the wind, the
countryside is quiet and still this afternoon until a shot rings out. It's muzzle-loader season.
