Window II
Outside, the wind drags the temperature down to –30. A William Morris wallpaper has appeared on a corner of the frosted glass. This small scrap …
Snow Noise
As the temperature falls, crunch becomes squeak. I am sure there is an explanation for this, but right now I don’t care to hear it. …
Snow Load
Alder, pin cherry, hawthorn, maple, birch—a thousand saplings bow their heads low over the paths as if they would pay homage to all who travel …
Human Tracks
I have worked hard all year to see the evidence of human incursions onto this land in the same way as the other wild creatures …
Deer Tracks
The snow tells stories of the living woods and all the animals that travel here. The well-trodden paths that in summer are discernible only to …
Window
Underneath the snow, the ice is as clear and as smooth as glass. Crouching beside the track, I look through winter backwards to last …
Perpetual Grey
It seems the days are perpetually overcast, the rain always just beginning or just ending. There is a constancy in the supply of fresh mud …
Darkling
On overcast days, the dark comes especially early. The woods are too-quiet; the songbirds have flown. The white pine branches are still and cold, with …
Underneath
In the early morning there was almost-ice. Now, the maple leaves float across the pond, the blue sky and dark branches reflected on the surface …
Hunting Season
I have always wondered why hunters wear blazing orange for safety in the autumn woods. They walk like dryads through the forest, the leaves/their sleeves …