A rumor of frost

I was on my way into my first class today, coming around the end of the Literary Arts building when I saw a bird walking into the pond. The pond sits at the back of the building between a parking lot and what was the main drive into campus. Usually, the geese are gathered back there, grazing or planning mayhem, but today an egret was moving slowly into the water. I stood and watched. It was a cool day; mist rose around the bird whose body glowed in the morning sun. I wanted to stay longer but needed to get upstairs to review my notes one more time before the latest quiz. Imagine how pleased I was to look back out there a few hours later and see an egret still pacing about.

 Last week during our ramble an owl came to rest above us on a streetlamp. Coyotes were speaking to one another across the many cul-de-sacs from the edge of town, and the first cool evening seemed to be settling in. For the past five or six days we’ve been able to open the windows in house and keep them open all day. Low temperatures and low humidity and a rumor of frost this weekend.

It reminds me that the world is still and calm in small doses.