9) Open Season!

A cascade of gun shots rang out like church bells today. The misty air vibrated with mental images of scurrying animals. I even watched a doe hop across the field out my window. The hunters are practicing their target shooting. Grouse hunting season is beginning, and that means nothing is safe in the forests here for a while. I won't be out walking alone or with Gracie having any adventures in the thick woods. It's too cold for a random walk like that anyways. I'm claiming that 50 degrees is too cold, however the locals would laugh in my face at the mention of it. If this chill feels too cold for my bones, I find it hard to fathom what 50 below zero feels like. Maybe I had better just enjoy the moment, and let the cold do what it will.

8) A Sister Lost A Sister Found

Today, the rain is coming down in torrents. I look outside and I can see the shape of the wind in the air. It's a gloomy day outside and in. Today, a sister goes far away, back to Portland, Oregon. I have not spent much time with her since I was a little kid learning cheers for the playground, she tells me. Here I am 20 years older. So is she. What an amazing woman. She is a caretaker for some elderly, and such a warm hearted person. I'm going to miss seeing her, but the good thing is that I will never spend 20 years without her again. Her plans are to come up to the north country in a few years to build a new life with her husband. However it works out, I am glad to have a relationship with my sister again.