I awakened long before dawn and stood in the darkness, waiting for a fragile scrap of waning moon to show her face above the horizon in the southeastern sky. She was visible for only a minute or two before fading away in a graceful gesture of fealty to the rising sun, but the slender crescent of light remained on the inside of my eyelids long after retreating into the high still light of morning.
A single male cardinal was perched in a maple tree in the garden, singing blithely and not seeming to care that it is only February, and there were owls perched in the bare oaks on a nearby hill, a splendid pair of mated "great hornies" welcoming the day with gentle nudgings and hootings.There was no mistaking their pleasure in being here at sunrise, in being together and sharing a tree.
Returning indoors, I made a robust pot of French roast (freshly ground beans) and ransacked the freezer for blueberries, the refrigerator for gluten free flour and maple syrup from the highlands. Such a fine rosy beginning to a late winter day and the advent of a new lunar cycle calls for a celebratory rite of some kind. Fresh "made from scratch" journey cakes (pancakes or bannock) seemed like the right way to go, and the fragrance in the kitchen was downright ambrosial.
5 comments:
This is a cruel thing to do to a man on his first cup of coffee and facing down a cold bowl of Weetabix.
Hi Cate
Looks yummy and your description of the birds made me jealous.
Guy
I must come to your kitchen for a taste of your delectable fare; much better than what is served up here :) How dedicated you are to life (up before dawn?!), to just being in each moment... And I love that you can *see* your owls! We still hear ours, but I want to find the nest. My husband hears their morning hoos - I am not up that early :) - and says they seem to be moving around the neighborhood...
Lovely photo - edible :)
journey cakes, i like that. journey tea and honey. journey books, woodlands, oceans, fir trees, sigh....
journey uncontrived.
thank you.
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