After the Storm

It is a beautiful Sunday morning.  I am sitting in my favorite chair with a warm blanket over my lap.  The room is dark and chilly.  It's early and the house is quiet.  The hum of the small space heater and the click of the keyboard are the only sounds.  The morning slowly brightens the yard and I can see that a thick layer of snow has blanketed everything.  The sky is slate grey, cloudy, and cold.  The snow is beautiful in this morning's twilight.  Last night, the wind smoothed this white blanket's wrinkles and erased the signs of forest life.  The turkey and deer have not yet been back to disturb the fine, bright white crust that flows along the contours of the yard.

This early morning reflection time is refreshing.  It seems to have been forever since writing has made it to the front of my to-do list and I intend to take advantage of this morning to practice my favorite hobby.  This morning is particularly beautiful and demands to be appreciated.

As I watch through the large windows and sip my coffee, warming my chilly fingers on the sides of the large mug, the sun begins to create shadows on the snow.  The grey overcast clouds move off to the east and some blue sky opens up.  The hemlock bush shudders in the wind and tries to shake off its snowy covering.  This must be the wake-up call for the birds.  Cardinals, chickadees, bluejays, and many others sit in the hemlock awaiting their turns at the feeder.  It seems to be by general agreement that only a single bird may alight on the perch at a time.  There is a parade of species one right after the other at the feeder.  A jay arrives, then a chickadee and another chickadee, then a titmouse or sparrow before the jay reasserts its predominance.  The cardinals sit patiently, proudly in the large bush, evidently comfortable in knowing there is plenty of seed and there will be more.  They take their turns but unlike the other birds that eat and fly away, the cardinals resume their sentry position in the hemlock, easily picked out by their striking color.  

I take a deep breath of cool morning air and gently exhale, releasing any tension.  I'll take a moment now to be grateful for the beauty of this morning and get on with my day.