Reconnaissance Mission
My roommate and I went for a little night time hike in the woods the other night. We are planning on holding vigil for Yuletide. We thought that a midnight picnic in our woods would be a nice addition to our vigil.
So, being good girl guides, we figured that a quick reconnaissance mission was in order. By the time Yule peaks at Soltice, the land will be covered with snow. Since we are still new to the area, we are still learning our way around the woods that are a short walk from our house. Better to get the lay of the land before the snow blankets everything. As it is now, there are small patches of snow and ice, but you can still see where you step.
So, once I got home from work we bundled up and packed a bag. First stop was the local pub for dinner, of course. It turns out that the local pub has a ugly sweater night for the holiday season and we happened upon it.
Once properly fortified, we walked down the road, down the hill, through the culvert and into the woods. Ottawa has tonnes of greenspace, including the wonderful… Continue reading
A Walk
From my Journal
January 2009. Misty Acres, near Greenwood, British Columbia:
My little plastic children’s sled, which is the colour of a perfect summer sky, slices into the snow with a slippery, rustling, skittering sound that repeats with each foot step. Sssshhhhhhhkthh … Sssshhhhhhhkthh
I lean forward into my momentum, gripping the black cord around my waist for added strength and stability. My black boots slip into the layer of fresh powder snow to shin deep before finding the hard packed stuff beneath.
My breath puffs out before me, like a steam engine. Falling snow finds its way into my eyes every time I glance up, leaving me half blind. I do not need to see. My feet know their way along this narrow path from my mother’s home to mine.
Along the long driveway past the horse pasture, then a sharp turn off the ploughed area and onto my little trail in the winter landscape. Then I scramble my way up the first bend on the steep incline of the mountain. I am bathed in moonlight; on my left side is the slope of an alpine meadow, to my right the forest pushes in close to my trail.
Upon… Continue reading
The Moon is Back Tonight
The moon is back tonight
I say
To a beagle named Lacey
Who races out ahead of my sled and I
As if in perfect agreement
In a crisp and clear winter-y night
A thin silver sickle illuminates the sky
The snows down below
Where I’m walking you know
Glow in a soft pearlescent white
My little hound, my blue sled and I
Raise a hand and a snout and give a shout out to
The hunter and the bull upon southern skies
The stars and the moon hang low and close
When walking upon my mountainside
The glow is so clear and so bright
I do not bother with my flashlight
From her journey around the Earth
Silver moon once again returns
And acts as my guide
In the cold and the snow I cannot help but to smile
And decide to go with the feeling
It can be rather difficult, you know
To dance in the moonlight
When pulling a loaded blue sled
In new moon light
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