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Winter’s grasp has held tight to February with prodigious amounts of freezing rain and two ice storms. When not frozen, the grass is soggy and slippery as the ground can no longer absorb any more rain, and our pond is bulging with the excess water. Exercising and entertaining our five German Shepherds requires that we are outside both morning and afternoon, regardless of the weather conditions. Happily, for them, they have double coats and they relish frolicking in the cold, wet yard. We gear up with warm clothes, covered by waterproof layers. It has been a long month.
Late in the month, after yet another rain storm, I went out with my dogs for their afternoon play session. The remnants of storm clouds filled the skies and yet the afternoon promised an end to the storms and a few dry days ahead. After an hour of playing, and having fed and put them back in their freshly cleaned kennels, I returned to the house to gather their “good-night” treat. The sun was just starting to set. When I stepped back out into the yard I beheld the most spectacular sight. All around me, beyond the long shadows cast by the days ending, was a beautiful glow of gold on the hills and trees. It is golden hour, the time just after sunrise or before sunset, when the sun touches everything with a soft golden hue. But this time was truly glorious, for the angle of the sun brought the light beneath the clouds and the gold tone was intense. I have never seen anything like this before. Such a beautiful sight to see the world bathed in gold ending the chill of winter and ushering in the hope of spring.
“Gold are the great trees overhead, And gold the leaf-strewn grass, As though a cloth of gold were spread To let a seraph pass. And where the pageant should go by, Meadow and wood and stream, The world is all of lacquered gold, Expectant as a dream”
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