March 7, 2024
Old Photographs
Bodhi slept the whole night though, and it was glorious waking up feeling rested. After a full night of uninterrupted sleep, my wife and I enjoyed coffee while talking about a North Carolina Wildlife article that urged people to kill off their pear trees, which were considered an invasive species. The article described the scent of the tree’s blooms as pungent and fishy, but our pear trees, which we adored, smelled sweet, similar to a honeysuckle, although not as strong.
After coffee, we changed clothes, loaded up Koda and Axel, and drove to Lake Wilson for a morning sunrise walk. The lake was beautiful, full of color that reminded me of early fall. Although it rained lightly, the water was smooth, reflecting the greens leaves, orangish branches, and bright red blossoms. There were several geese floating, wading, and diving their heads into the water, looking for an early morning breakfast. Near the banks in the brushy areas, mallards sat in the water, some solo and others in pairs. There was a lone heron on the west side of the lake, standing stoically.
The air felt fresh as the cool morning started. Lake Wilson received a good dose of rain, evidenced by its high water levels. The highlight of the morning, however, were the three beaver sightings. My wife loved seeing the elusive creatures, and this morning did not disappoint. Each time, we stopped to watch the plump mammals gracefully swim, creating a long wake in the still water. The beaver’s colossal head jutted out from the surface while the back and hindquarters were barely visible.
We continued along the path, stopping occasionally to let the dogs investigate the smells around the lake. My wife and I talked about buying a house near the water one day. We liked the North Carolina coastal area, and there were several small towns with delightful houses near inlets. What a great way to start the day.
When we arrived home, I jumped into the shower and got ready for work. The morning was full of meetings and phone calls. My wife was off work, so she left for Wilson to shop for groceries. When she returned, we reheated some pizza and had lunch together. Strangely, this Thursday felt like a Friday.
While I worked, I noticed my wife was busy in the kitchen. She enjoyed cooking and found it relieved the stress from her studies. I ventured into the kitchen to see what she was doing. She was baking cakes, as in more than one. One cake, made from dark chocolate, was for us, while the other, a vanilla cake, was for the raccoons. A few hours later, my wife had two extraordinarily decorated cakes that looked good enough to be on the cover of a dessert magazine. I took pictures to keep as a momento.
On a break, I went into the woods with my wife. We carried two plates of iced cake, topped with fresh strawberries and grapes, and a bag full of produce which included apples and carrots. In the forest, we placed one plate of cake on Beaver Tooth Rock, in front of a trail camera. The other plate went to another feeding area by the creek, on the west side of the property. This place also had a trail camera trained on the area.
We laughed along the way. I’m not sure the wildlife around the area had ever tasted cake, much less one that was baked specifically for them. On the walk home, my wife asked how I felt about making a fire in the evening and smoking some pork spare ribs on the Traeger. I was all in. I went back to work, energized, looking forward to their evening.
After work, I took a little time to watch the online memorial video for my recently departed aunt. She and her family were a big part of my childhood, and seeing the old photographs of her and her children took me back to those days. I realized that there was a lot about my aunt that I did not know. As we grow older, extended family members disperse as each person forms relationships with their immediate relatives. Losing my aunt reminded me that people who are a special part of our personal history never lose our love or their significance to our life.
After work was over, I cut some firewood and started up the fire pit. I grabbed a couple of cold beers and met my wife outside. A large slab of pork spare ribs sat smoking on the Traeger grill. The weather was much warmer than just a couple of weeks ago, and spring was definitely in the air. The bats that came out in the evenings to feed last spring had returned, and so had the mosquitos that fed them. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time with my spouse than to be outdoors, sitting in front of the Solo Stove, barbecuing, sipping suds, and having meaningful conversation.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky lit up in full color, adding to the enjoyment of the evening. We turned off the music so we could hear the frogs start up as night fell. I sat back and listened to nature’s song, filled with the croaks and trills of frogs, the popping of embers from the furious fire, the crackling of sticks chewed by the dogs, and the wind blowing through the pine tops in the evening forest.