Sunday was a beautiful day, as I set off on a four hour trek from Buffalo to Albany, to visit oldest son and family. True, it was cold, but the sun shone, and the sky was blue. Naked trees , like sentries, stood guard along the highway, rifles pointing skyward.
Upstate N.Y. appeals to my Irish eyes, and I understand why so many of my countrymen settled here. The rolling hills and green fields, albeit presently fringed with snow, remind me of the green fields of home. The wintry sun gleams off grain silos and farmhouses, and the lovely old red barns make my fingers itch for a pencil or some charcoal.
Lazy jetstreams crisscross the blue, and I wonder , as I always do, where all those people are going.......Black deer on yellow signs leap from the shoulder, shouting their soundless warning, "watch out for us!" And then, the surprise of a black kitten with a white shirt, sitting in a snow-speckled field, head cocked curiously to one side, watching the cars speed by. I sent him a mental message: "Dear little kitten, don't step out here, go back to where you came from."
The ever- present highway patrol were in evidence, hiding in low- slung ditches, waiting to pounce on the heavy of foot. No, they didn't catch me [I'm the gngerbread man...]
Needing to get gas, I took an exit through a tunnel of rock, where five to six foot long icicles hung, far from the reach of the sun......"When icicles hang by the wall , And Dick the shepherd blows his nail...And Tom bears logs into the hall, And milk comes frozen home in pail...."
Closer to Albany the trees were more graceful, sporting lacier silhouettes against the dusky pink sky. I took the wrong exit, of course, and got lost. Wouldn't want to tarnish my reputation by getting it right first time.....But, finally arriving, I was rewarded with curly-haired , blue eyed smiles and hugs from two little angels, and who wouldn't travel to the ends of the earth for that?
7 comments:
What a lovely reward for you to be greeted by such happy little angels.
You write beautifully. I could see it all in my mind's eye. PS. I hope that little kitten heard your soundless cry.
What a lovely post!
As Float said, & I tried to post on a comment this morning, I could see it all too!
Yes, a lovely post. Float is right, your description conjures up images clearly in my head, a welcome relief for the stinking hot day we are having here in Sydney!
Ah yes, that is beautiful prose indeed. But what happened to that hellish weather that you so elegantly reported on 4 days ago? That's the weather I seem to recall when I was in Massachusetts for the first 40 years of my life. I especially remember the shoveling and putting chains on the car wheels during a blinding snowstorm without the dark glasses.
Ah, the memories and thankfully, for me they are only memories since I became a dyed in the wool Californian in 1950.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
December 15, 2006
Thanks for your comments O.P. I guess it was a warm wind that blew in from somewhere,but yes! in a mere few days the weather in Buffalo went from arctic to almost balmy...
Yes, Molly. You've described the landscape of my heart! Though the rest of my body is glad I live in Florida.
When you get tired of wandering, do come home. I have put lights on the "Little Gem" magnolia out front. And it's blooming at the same time!
Indeed, what a lovely description. I feel cold just reading it, though I'm in Scotland, with blue skies and mild temperatures outside and far-too-hot central heating here in my place of employment adding to the global warming that's making Scotland mild at this time of year.
I don't want to be in the land of icicles but I do want to be a granny! Those angels sound just what I'm after.
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