Sometimes, no not sometimes, always it has been little stuff that brightens the day. Today it was the snowfall. When I woke up and saw a light blanket of snow clinging to every horizontal surface, from the narrow metal balustrade, to the spidery thin branches of the trees on the side of the mountain, I felt great. There was a quickness in my movements as I got dressed to go out for my morning walk. The stray snowflakes drifting down enveloping me with a softness associated with snow, making my heart sing. Only yesterday, I felt how will I last 2 years in my chosen self-imposed exile/adventure!
Today, my thoughts are about the stillness of the morning and the assets of my adopted city dressed in their finest. How familiar I have become with this place; the streets, the stray dogs, the people, the many fruit stands and their owner's, the couple of bakeries I frequent and the super market cashier's! This is my home for two years and I feel a pull-push relationship with it.
I love the fantastic views of the mountains sheltering this valley! I walk through the small pine forest on the small hill (mountain?) south of the town, less than 5 minutes walk from my house. It's dark green color set against the brown of the local oak and other trees is now a familiar place, as familiar as the wooded paths, the beach and the streets of LF. Today's snow cloaks the dark green and brown with a white coat, while the spring and summer wildflowers and other small animals that take shelter here have yet to reveal themselves to me. I remember how delighted my friend and I were when we spotted a deer, a fox or a coyote in the forested streets of LF-LB. Those thoughts remind me that I am in no hurry to go home, at least not yet, not till my work here is finished and I have experienced all the seasons.
Yesterday I learned about about a village close by which has fields of mountain tea on one side of the valley and berry bushes on the other side. Now I have something else to look forward to - accompanying my new friends to their village during those months and hiking up to those fields. So today it no longer feels like exile, but an adventure that is just starting