A Walk In The Woods

Virginia is cold now, blustery, leafy, refrigerator cold. We wear layers of warmth around our heads and shoulders, We wear boots and mittens, and walk briskly to generate more warmth. It smells wonderful outdoors--woodsy, crisp and golden. We walk through the trees, the muffled sound of leaves shuffling under our feet. The dogs celebrate and romp and investigate and run. Cranky children begin to smile and laugh. We walk in pairs and we walk in lines. We point out the black water of the creek, the gnarly twisted tree trunk, the ruts and ridges of the landscape. We walk till we are tired and full of fresh air.

Back inside, the fires are dancing and we drink hot chocolate and spicy tea. We watch out the windows as the squirrels hop busily, branch to branch, very intent at their gathering task. The harder they work, the less we do. We sit and listen, we chat and play games. We work on puzzles and dinner recipes. Nothing much. We thank God for the soul quietness that only comes from being outdoors.