A Dusting of Snow

The Folly Cove Fiber Freaks, a.k.a. Maureen and Leslie, posted a blog about the weather yesterday. Maureen, who grew up inland where weather is confined to the sky and what winds up on the ground, wrote about her awareness of weather now that she lives across the street from Folly Cove with its rocks and waves and constant interaction with the sky. It was a lovely posting.

I don't think that it is possible to live on an island like Gloucester and remain oblivious to weather --- it is such a constant part of our lives. Though it is not even officially winter yet we are having wintery weather lately of the sort that I love. In the morning the whole world looks as though it was dusted with confectioners sugar. And by noon it is pretty much gone. I love that --- it can do that all winter in my opinion.

Saturday was our monthly needleworker's meeting. These days we are meeting in the home of one of our members. She lives on a hill overlooking the ocean and Thacher Island with its twin stone tower lighthouses sits on the horizon. She has a deck hung with bird feeders and the we sit in her beautiful living room and watch the birds and the waves and we knit and crochet and talk and share delicious treats and enjoy one another's company. Friday night there had been a snowfall but Saturday dawned bright and sunny. I chose a chair that allowed me to sit with the sunlight streaming through the window on my back and shoulders. it was heaven.

As the day warmed the snow on the roof began to melt and pour steadily onto the deck. A bunch of pigeons decided this was a perfect opportunity to have nice showers and they spent twenty minutes under the pouring water stretching out their wings, preening and twisting and turning, and bathing themselves in all manner of contortions. It was wonderful to watch. That house is home to six cats and the cats sit inside the windows watching the birds --- heaven only knows what is going on in their little cat brains.

There were a lot of chickadees, too, this week. They fly up with their feathers all puffed out for warmth, snatch one seed and fly off to feast on it in private before returning for another. Last month a red-tailed hawk paid a visit and, in an attempt to snatch a juicy pigeon for his lunch, he crashed into one of the big plate glass windows making a terrible racket. He flew off somewhat stunned but was back before long.

While we were there, talking, knitting, sharing ideas and opinions, and watching the endless beauty of the ocean, the flash of the lighthouses, the constant entertainment of the birds, I thought how fortunate we were to have that experience and to share it, too. On my way home at the end of the day I went by the harbor. I am keeping a watch out for the seals returning and I have seen quite a few of them so far this year. The swans were out. Six of them, floating serenely by. There are a lot of cormorants this year and the cute little bufflehead ducks are everywhere.

I know not everyone is in a place where they can live in constant awareness of the natural world and that is too bad. Because these beauties have an effect that is both humbling and enriching. I realize that no matter what may be going on in my life at any particular moment, the world still turns --- sunlight turns ice to water in which pigeons bathe and preen, waves pound against the rocks and carry the seals up on to them where they can lie in the sunlight and dream, whales sing their songs far out at sea. Life goes on and all is well.

Thanks for reading.