The Weather Girl

I never in a million years thought weather would control my life, but this South Texas girl has been shivering since Sunday. Dang it's cold here. The wind finally laid last night and today it's supposed to warm up to the mid-50s. Of course, they are predicting that the overnight low will be 33. Funny thing is, I like the cold...I just don't like being cold. Yesterday we had a power outage on the Ridge and my recurring thought was...must build fire, must build fire, must build fire. How caveman of me.

The wildlife have altered their behavior in preparation for winter. Last week, mice started moving into the Retreat House. I escorted 2 of them out the front door and unfortunately, the third died in the wall in the back of my clothes closet....yuck. The deer are moving down from the high ridge to the lower trail. Last Friday, I was sitting with a friend looking out at the lake and taking in the fall foliage when out of nowhere, a beautiful doe came to the edge of the water, jumped in, swam around, jumped out and disappeared into the woods. It lasted all of 30 seconds, but neither one of us dared take a breath...it was a gift. Yesterday, a retreatant recounted the joy and wonder of sitting and watching two otters tumble, spin and play around the perimeter of the lake.

It may be cold outside, but I'm not going to miss a moment of the splendor of fall. So I'll put on layers, wear a hat and forge off into the wilderness to overstimulate my senses with this oh-so- intentional march toward winter. As long as there is a cup of tea and a warm fire waiting for me at the Retreat House, I can live with shivering.