Friday, August 18, 2006

late august

It is raining now, a strong rain that maybe will give the fall lettuce and kale seed I have planted an incentive to grow. The rain is surrounded by darkness, the darkness comes a little bit earlier each day it seems.

The nighthawks were flying and circling tonight, in loose flocks but with their intentions known: migration. Graceful as swallows, but bigger, and not seen here until their fall migration. It is time. Funny how one minute you're planting, the next minute it's all over.

I think I may have seen a wolf this morning. It was foggy, more like a September morning fog, and I could not see too far up the road, but there was a shadowy large gray figure that trotted off the road a few hundred yards in front of me, didn't bound off the road like a deer, was not black like a bear. The Hermit thought he heard a wolf this morning, not a coyote, so it is probable.

All was still earlier in the light of day, except for the crickets and one complaining nuthatch. It is the time of year when birds are all but invisible.

I hold it close, like I do all of the seasons these days. Every new day is different, each has something to say. The only constant is change; the earth spinning, tilting, traveling. To quote Wendell Berry, only music keeps us here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's mornings like this one that put it all into proper perspective, at least for me. I'm glad it happened to someone with enuf stillness to appreciate it.

R.Powers said...

It WAS a wolf. I just know it.
Canis envy :)

Madcap said...

Lovely writing, Deb. Yes, the year has passed the halfway point and it's on the wane. I love the longer, cooler nights. What a pleasure after that insufferable July.

Do you get many wolves down your way? We don't have a lot here, but they show up occasionally. I saw a timberwolf in the headlights in the middle of the night once; incredibly big and long-legged.

Anonymous said...

A Wolf! Haven't seen one since I left my parent's farm in northeastern Oklahoma. I hear they are in Maine, but only up near the Canadian border.

I would of loved to see that nighthawk migration. Could you hear them?