THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER

A FAVORITE MAPLE TREE OF MINE

I found a seat in an old maple tree by Tom's Creek late this afternoon where I can sit with my journal and celebrate the first day of winter.  It's 35 degrees, cloudy, foggy, and gray, and there's very little snow on the ground!  There will be no sunset for me to notice since the sun has been hiding under the clouds all day, like for most of December, it seems.

 

I appreciate this maple tree.  It's kind of like a family of five trees joined together at the base with each tree spreading out into the world on its own, except for one that's now broken with it's branches resting on the ground, sprawling toward the creek.

A slight mist fills the air and I can hear an occasional drop of rain hitting the earth beneath me or landing on the hood of my coat.  The creature world is silent.  Not even the sound of a blue jay, crow, or chickadee do I hear.  Perhaps the birds are busy at home getting ready for Christmas.

This maple tree reminds me of a family with one member gone, but the one that is gone lives on in the memory of those still standing tall.  Green lichen grows yet on the bark of the downed tree, chipmunks still scurry across its trunk, and it gives me a place to sit and ponder.  Same with our missing family members... although they are apart from us, we will forever remember, and forever be one.

As I dawdle back through the woods towards home, the daylight is nearly gone.  It's that time of day when every bit of brush turns into a deer, every clump of marsh grass turns into a tail, and oak leaves yet fastened to the treetops turn into birds flitting in the wind.  

When I arrive back at our cabin, my dawdling has paid off.  The light in the kitchen is on and the fish we're having for supper have all been cleaned.  Life is good!  

Merry Christmas to all my nature loving friends, and thanks for following my blog!