A bright star overhead made its presence known just before sunrise this Sunday morning. The Morning Star. Planet Venus. 5:54 am. Several inches of snow had fallen just a day or so ago. A blanket of white covered the Vermont landscape…
Unable to settle into my day I decided to take a walk soon after I returned from an early morning run. My fourteen-year-old rescue was happy for the opportunity. Cub was busy with all things dog while we made our way up the street. He sniffed and trotted and sniffed some more. Vigilant in wanting to know who’s path he was crossing. Drifting snow swirled around us…
The quiet was interupted by the sound of a nearby running stream. Meditative. My heavy thoughts momentarily distracted but only for the number of parallel steps…
A car from behind pulled slowly up beside us. Immediately I recognized the woman behind the wheel. She lives just a mile from my home, but we have not seen each other for a bit. Winter and the pandemic have felt particularly harsh these past number of weeks. A beautiful woman of indeterminable age. Vermont life looked good on her. We chatted until the next car was upon us. I felt the better for having talked with her albeit briefly…
Another neighbor was cross-country skiing across their back yard in approach to a trail up an ambitious hill. A second homeowner not a year rounder. Cars of neighboring states passed by on their way to the local ski mountain. NY, MA, CT. NJ too. Neighbors…
I thought about my neighbors today and the word “neighbor” as we passed from one house to the next. As I climbed our windy drive, I looked across the rolling hills that glistened white and pure. My gratitude measured by the many snowy inches …
“A good neighbor is a fellow who smiles at you over the back fence but doesn’t climb over it.” Arthur Baer
