Dreaming of Spring

The deer amble slowly through the woods, stopping every so often to nibble the tender new growth of the briars. They are still indulging themselves on the rations of corn I leave them. I find offerings of great tufts of snow white fur left for me by the "spirit deer" and I gather them to place on my altar.



The world seems a happier place with spring on the horizon. All the wonderful sights and sounds we miss all winter long slowly reappear, as does my hope. Mornings are once again punctuated by cheery birdsong. A woodpecker taps incessantly on a tree; squirrels are once again busy scrambling through the thicket or rustling in the treetops putting the finishing touches to their nests. In the early evening I hear the chorus from the bogs - the peepers have returned. Oh what a joyous sound that is to my winter weary ears! A winter that seemed unending now shows the promise of spring and renewal. All at once, I am happy and thankful.



Outside my cabin the white deer gather. They munch loudly on the corn I have left them. They are at ease with my presence - their tails tucked neatly down. Soon, as the forest greens they will have little need for my handouts. That I can get this close to them still holds me in awe. Every year new deer are born, most of them mutations and not true albinos, for they lack pink eyes, nonetheless unless you have seen one of them close-up you have missed flawless magnificent beauty. They are agile and careen through the forest with swiftness and grace, never missing a step.



It is a lazy day, unseasonably warm... A day made for dreaming of summer. It feels more like July than mid-March. Two cats flank the steps to the cabin like bookends, content to lie and watch scampering squirrels vying with an array of birds for the much coveted sunflower seeds. Watching them, I feel the daily tensions slip from my body; my shoulders relax, my mind ceases to race. On a day such as this, winter seems long gone but we know that is not true - this day, this midsummer teaser has lured us from our winter dens. But that is okay, next week the calendar marks the true arrival of spring and this gal will gladly take a cool fifty degrees over those winter frigid temps any day. So, bring it on winter, get in your last blows, you can't go on forever!



Postscript - Friday, March 16th - we are in the middle of a Nor'easter and it is snowing steady and bitterly cold. *Smile* my den sure feels toasty today!

Postscript ~ This post is from a few years ago and due to technical difficulties, I had to delete the original post and repost it. So, it is not March now, as you can see from the date on this post!