Winter Moon
Monday, December 12 2011
There is a silence settling over our New England nights. There are no frogs, crickets or other night sounds. Winter is creeping in on us. The leaves have layered the forest floor giving a blanket’s warmth to the salamanders that will not appear again until spring when the sun will again warm our fertile earth. As we approach the longest night of the year owls patiently watch for mice that have not yet filled their pantries for the coming famine. Squirrel’s inner GPSs have logged a map of buried acorns as they await the howling winds of January.
Tonight’s December moon drifts slowly across the sky in its appointed path. Silhouetted birch and maple branches web across my sky like the work of a drunken spider. In the morning there will be a glassy pane of ice across puddles. Until then our neighborhood coyote will roam through our yards enabled by the glow of that winter moon.
My dog sits close beside me staring into the darkness of our woods. This morning she saw a pair of deer. I think she is looking to see if they will again sleep near our house. I hear her soft breathing. I feel the hardness of her body press against my leg as if to let me know as long as we are together we are safe. All is well as winter settles in. The woodpile is high and ready for those wonderful days when schools are closed and one can sit all day by the fire with a good book and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Winter is a good time. It heralds the coming of spring. Spring always follows winter. But for now I will enjoy the slowly drifting winter moon.