Winter’s Thaw

“Springtime” sounds vie for my ears’ attention: two chainsaws in a growling chorus; warm-weather voices–human and canine; my dog’s nails as they hit the slushy/icy/muddy/solid surface under his feet…squish, click, slurp, click. We walk faster. So many birds keeping time…

I look down at my new Columbia jacket: its black fleece–softly set off by its bright blue logo and stitching–catches my eye as we leave our snow-covered property. I notice that even the jacket’s zippers are that same smart shade: bright, cheerful, and so-handsome blue. The sky mirrors my jacket’s blue adornments: shining cerulean solaced by white cotton balls. I smile as my eyes float to my dog’s wiry, black fur; he must feel my glance: he looks up and passes back the smile that seems to exist in every part of his body, too. His walk smiles, his eyes smile and his toenails click faster as his paws receive the message. I ruffle the black and gray tufts on his head.

The temperate air is breathing its relief. My own air is clear, unobstructed, fast and strong. I keep time with my dog as my senses absorb all that will be gone by tonight. Wood smoke drifts from the neighbor’s chimney as we click by. The smoke’s sharp smell is buffered by the atmosphere’s temporary softness. The pond that I pass most days is also softening: fat islands of grey-white ice hesitate to completely submit to the warmth’s intrusion. Gold, dull green and brown take the field as the disappearing white admits its partial defeat.Two seasons colliding as the newly emerging colors put the sun to bed.

As my furry hiking buddy and I continue to our still-icy, gravel road, I silently cheer that colorful team on, knowing that by morning, white will take the lead again…