Solitude For Saturday. #9

Good morning everyone and Happy Saturday to all of you! Well, there was more snow out there this morning when I went out to feed the birds. We are not getting a lot each day, but it is adding up anyway. We have so far had 10 inches (25cm) of snow this week and it is still snowing out there right now. That really is not a lot of snow however. It just seems like it when it keeps snowing every day. Oh well.

Only 4 and a half months left of winter. That is not so bad. If you say it fast. I am just not a winter person. Though at one time I used to like certain aspects of winter, like snowshoeing. That was fun. But that is not something I can do anymore. My health does not allow such things now. Really, it is my health that keeps me from enjoying winter. That is why I like summer so much more.

Spring and summer always were my favorite seasons. However, I still enjoyed winter too. Hard to believe I would actually say that. Now I look at winter and say, it is long, cold and lots of snow. And I look forward to spring as soon as winter arrives. A lot of people love winter. Though most of those people live in places where they really do not get winter. I would love winter in a place like that too. But there is no such place here in this country of Canada.

So, we make the best of it and try to ignore winter. Until we have to go outside. Anyway, that took up more time than I thought it would. Sigh. In summer I think of summer. In winter I think of summer. That is solitude. I like to think of walking down to the river, my place of solitude. The path is nice to walk on, wide and easy to follow. It goes through areas of spruce, poplar and birch. Then changes to a sort of field and enters an area of large white and red pine.

It is beautiful sitting beneath those large pines and looking up at the branches high above me. That is solitude. Watching those little squirrels running along those branches, right to the very top of the tree, a hundred feet above the ground. Jumping from branch to branch in another tree, never worrying about falling. Sometimes it looks like they do it just for fun.

Squirrels do enjoy having fun. Watching them is enjoyable too. That is solitude. Sitting there listening to the wind in the tops of those pines. It makes such a beautiful sound, like finely tuned instruments of different kinds. A real orchestra playing there in the forest. That is solitude. Well, I must stop now, I am suffering with some very severe pain this morning. And it makes it hard to think, unfortunately. I do hope that all of you have a most wonderful weekend and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2022 Steve McLeod.