January Morning

 My winter morning involves an outdoor temperature well below the frozen mark, and a fuchsia sky of pre-dawn.  A smattering of snow.  So nice.

The cacophony of snow geese on the Kansas River can be heard in the dark.  After sunrise, they will rise up in a swirling vortex, to dip and land and rise up again, from one cornfield to another, for most of the day.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of migrating geese, and not one air traffic controller.  I never, ever tire of watching them swoop and swirl in concert.  And what are they all honking about, I wonder?

There are all sorts of animal tracks out in the snow: big ol' coyote paw prints, a smaller set - most likely a fox.  The deer have made a thoroughfare through our pasture, as evidenced by the multiple hooves going back and forth from the road down to our creek.  The brush pile is trimmed with bunny tracks: hop, hop, hop! in the snow.  I think the brush pile is a warren: no burning of brush this winter!  And near every tree and bush are teeny, tiny little prints of hardy birds, scavenging for seeds and thistles for sustenance.

The north wind!  There is a Scottish term - "the wind is lazy", which means the wind will go straight through you; it is too lazy to go around.  On our north porch is a wind chime, and its one rod is very large, so that the clapper sound is much like the gong from a clock tower.  We don't hear it often; most of our wind emanates from the south or the west.  What I have been hearing the past two days, in duet with the snow geese, is the perpetual gong reminding me that the north wind is strong, and lazy, and very cold.

(An aside:  When we first moved to rural Kansas we had a standard-issue wind chime.  In a normal environment, its gentle tinkling sound could be enjoyed now and then, as a slight breeze might go past.  After I hung it outdoors in our new digs, it only took a couple of hours of constant jangling, shattering, dinging, before I took it down.  It was AWFUL.  When I found the giant wind chime, I knew it was bound for our Kansas home on the Tall Grass Prairie.)  

And so, my winter morning begins.  Time to pull on my winter gear and head out for a walk.