February 4, 2024
In the morning, we woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the day. My wife jumped in the shower while I prepared some laundry and cleaned the kitchen. She must have had an epiphany in the shower, because when she got out, she asked, “Do you want to go get breakfast?” Yup. The dynamic duo was back in full force.
The Cracker Barrel, normally hopping on Sundays, was pleasantly quiet. The fireplace was full of burning logs and embers. Breakfast was a feast. There were stacks of freshly buttered pancakes with maple syrup, thick cut bacon, and eggs smothered in tabasco sauce. I drank more coffee while my wife opted for a hot chocolate, complete with chocolate whipped cream. Work hard; play hard.
After eating, we went straight to Lake Wilson for some exercise. The lake was quiet, too. Where were all the people? As usual, the scenery was beautiful. There were several mallards and a large flock of Canadian geese. We also spotted a blue heron and one lone cormorant. The waterfowl seemed relaxed, as if they knew it was Sunday. Most of my walks, lately, have either been in the dark or at sunrise, when the temperatures are uncomfortably cold. It was nice to be at the lake when the sun was out. Even though the wind was cold, I could feel the sun’s heat radiating.
After our walk, we stopped by a local grocery story to stock up on groceries for the week. We sorted everything out when we arrived home and packed my wife’s car for the trip. Before we knew it, and before we were ready, it was time for her to leave. The goodbyes were tougher than we expected, but we knew we had stolen some time together from our scheduled month apart.
I needed a little time to settle after she left, so I picked up the guitar for a while before sitting at my desk to work on a writing project. When I looked up from my desk, I peered outside of the window and saw it was a beautiful day. I changed clothes, grabbed my camera and harness, and headed into the woods. I climbed up into a tree stand in the central area of the property and sat quietly, hoping to see some wildlife.
It was a quiet day in the tree stand, but hey, I was in a tree stand out in the middle of the woods. Doing this was kind of like going fishing. Sometimes, the fish aren’t biting, but you’re still out of the house and on the water. This is the real reason most people fish and hunt (or take photographs). We just want to be in the environment that makes us happy. After an hour, a lone woodpecker landed in a tree about thirty yards from my position. I shot a couple of photos, but they were nothing spectacular. Still, I enjoy watching these little birds. Seeing red in nature always feel special, whether its a woodpecker’s head, cardinal, or Japanese maple in fall.
The evening on the stand was just what the doctor ordered. Spending time in nature allowed me to snap back into my routine of living alone. Everything was going to be okay. And by okay, I meant I was going to miss my wife, but I was going to do it in style. After the second hour on the stand, I climbed down and hiked back to the house. I was going to build a fire.
I split three logs into kindling and lit them. It rained a few days ago, and some of the wood was still wet. While the flame in the fire pit did not go out, the wood was having trouble igniting. I stacked everything neatly, placing multiple pieces of small wood in the flame's path while making sure there was adequate airflow. After a few minutes, it was clear the wood was wet, so I exited the back gate and found three long, but skinny, pine branches. Because the limbs were thin, they had completely dried. Small skinny branches burn fast and hot. When you’re starting a fire, the primary goal is to produce hot coals, something small sticks do quickly. Once you have enough hot coals in a pit, the temperature becomes so hot that a large log will quickly ignite, even if it was wet when you threw it in.
The temperature was dropping, but the fire was plenty warm, keeping me outside for hours. As the sky darkened, I opted to make a couple of hotdogs right there on the fire pit, eating them outside while sipping a cold beer and listening to music. I also cooked a few hotdog wieners to add to the dog’s dinner. It was a good night. Not perfect; but as good as things can be when your partner is gone.
I let the fire pit burn down, fed the dogs, and then washed the smoke off me in a hot shower. The weekend was over and it was time to begin a new week. I had a big presentation in the morning, so I would have an early start. But first, that pesky thing called sleep.