Poor Will's Almanack for the transition week to early winter, the third week of the Manger Moon, and the third week of the sun in wintery Sagittarius.
This afternoon, I gave in for a moment to the darkness of December, the bite of the wind and the sense of advent, the premonition of a storm, the aftermath of leaffall. A twinge of primal fear.
Leaving my fireside, I went out to the woods, and I came across a small pool surrounded by bare saplings, a pond, and a glade. It reminded me of the flooded field I played in as a boy one April. It reminded me, too, of so many beaches and dreams. Later in the day, I was driving south through the fog, and I settled back in the truck and watched the countryside, looked out at the gray, still, farm ponds, and the ponds became transformed to something else: a morning's perfect glade. Then, an entire tapestry passed through my brain to...
Once before the time of freeways, I drove east through the Great Smoky Mountains in the rain, winding through the night, holding my breath at each curve until I finally emerged onto the broad flatlands of the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Ahead of me lay sunrise on the coastal plain. The treacherous hills were gone, the way made street. Everything seemed now within my grasp. And today, memory in these woods as an antidote to winter, like a promise spring.
I'll be back again next week with notes for the first week of early winter. In the meantime, the road of Sagittarius stretches out before us all taking us to spring.
Bill Felker contributes to newspapers nationwide, including the "Yellow Springs News." Bill resides in Yellow Springs.
This episode is from the Poor Will's Almanack archives.
