The Long View

We are home from our Connecticut visit. We had a lovely time and safe travels. As the sun came up on the red-eye flight, I frogged three inches of a sock. I managed to get the stitches of a dark colored yarn back onto the needles without a crochet hook. Whew! I wouldn't want to start a cross country trip without knitting. I arrived home with one sock almost finished. Since it is a Christmas gift, I am not posting a photograph.

We savored the moments with our daughter and family: playing race cars, reading stories, shopping a local farmer's market, attending church, and playing in the park.

We enjoyed trick or treating with three little Waldos. We watched the school Halloween parade and I read to E's kindergarten class on Halloween. The darling little faces on wiggly, excited bodies were delightful, especially since I wasn't the teacher in charge.






Sunday afternoon was warm enough to play on the beach. Another windy day, my daughter and I walked the path around Todd's Point, a Greenwich community treasure.

We came home to November. Yesterday I visited nearby Spring Creek Prairie, a preserve owned and managed by the Audubon Society. Some of the land is original long grass prairie. It was well cared for by a family who donated it to Audubon for future generations. Recently, additional acres have been purchased by Audubon as a buffer to the original site. Parts of the prairie are being reseeded with native grasses. During the first few years of growth, grasses directs their energy underground to the new, extensive root system. Care of the prairie requires a long view.

The day was bright and cool enough for a light jacket. The wetland area has changed a bit with grasses filling in under the footbridge that once spanned water. A few small birds, probably sparrows, flew from the nearby bushes as I crossed the bridge. Perhaps one was a bluebird but the birds were gone in an instant and I went without binoculars. Sometimes it is good to be in a place without naming and labeling. I walked the trails for over an hour. I walked down from a ridge and sat on the ground. Cradled by the land, I listened to the wind, the rustling grass, and a few insect noises that will soon be quiet during the winter. Three times the flapping wings of a large hawk drew my vision up to the bare limbs of trees along a draw on the southern edge of the prairie.

At home, I am finishing the second Christmas sock, trying to remember the long view. Thanks to Becky for reminding me that we live locally. I hope that together we can make a difference. Welcome to wool sock weather.