Bird of the Day

[Gardner Yeaw]

I disagree that it was past time to head south. This Bird of the
week image captured a moment in time that reminds me of precious
moments when I was very young. We lived in an old farmhouse on a
country road that ran parallel to the highway, but carried mostly
passenger vehicles and local delivery traffic. That was back in the
day when the milkman, dry cleaner, local market and even the iceman
used to deliver right to your doorstep.

When it snowed at night I would get out of bed and watch the
flakes fall to the ground illuminated only by the streetlight. There
was a steam radiator under the window and I would throw a blanket
over it so I didn't get burned. The stillness of the falling snow
was mesmerizing. The silence was broken occasionally by the hiss
from the valve on the steam radiator as the heat came up, and the
loud banging of the old steam pipes as they expanded and contracted
from the fresh hot steam and the cooler condensed water returning
from the radiators. Then the silence would take over again. The
warmth of the radiator and the cool breeze from the old leaky double
hung window would refresh and comfort at the same time.

Occasionally, piercing the silence, there would be the far away
rhythmic sound of a tire chain slapping the fender well of an
approaching car. The sound would grow and bring with it the dull
rumble of the chains pounding the pavement. The car would pass and
the sound would die away leaving the gently falling snowflakes to
quietly regain my attention.

Who would be out on a night like this? It may have been a doctor
going to see a patient. Oh yes, they used to do that when I was a
kid. The doctor would come into your bedroom, pull out a big
hypodermic needle from his black bag and give you a healthy shot of
penicillin, the latest cure all for everything that ailed you. It
could have been a policeman heading for work, a fireman, an
ambulance driver, or someone else who absolutely needed to perform a
duty. It was a time before SUVs, 4-wheel drives and all weather
radial tires. No one ventured out that didn't absolutely have to.

This image of the Bird of the week has that quality. I can just
imagine myself sitting inside with the heaters blowing warm air, a
warm blanket wrapped around me (a Bluebird afghan that is), and a
snifter of brandy in my hand. Peering out the window and feeling
like a kid again.

I also expect I would have a couple of snowmobiles in the trailer
for the morning!

Gardner
78FC33