It was time to move on. Funny how the cold had gone for a while, standing there. There must be an internal regulatory mechanism that moved warmth to the extremities for the time, drawing on previous exertion. It seemed like magic. Standing in the desolate emptiness, everything dead or dormant, had a comfort to it. Feeling returned to hands and feet. The mind cleared. The petty dramas of the day and its people withdrew. There was the sky, the frozen landscape, the falling snow and absolutely nothing but emptiness and clarity. Like being everywhere and nowhere at all. There were likely birds and mice and rabbits, certainly. Maybe some larger predators, foxes or coyotes perhaps. But they were silent and absent, waiting out the storm.
It was time to move on. Funny how the cold had gone for a while, standing there. There must be an internal regulatory mechanism that moved warmth to the extremities for the time, drawing on previous exertion. It seemed like magic. Standing in the desolate emptiness, everything dead or dormant, had a comfort to it. Feeling returned to hands and feet. The mind cleared. The petty dramas of the day and its people withdrew. There was the sky, the frozen landscape, the falling snow and absolutely nothing but emptiness and clarity. Like being everywhere and nowhere at all. There were likely birds and mice and rabbits, certainly. Maybe some larger predators, foxes or coyotes perhaps. But they were silent and absent, waiting out the storm.