Some enchanted evenings

There aren't any pictures to go with this post, because I am not a good enough photographer to capture it. I just wanted to describe one of the great benefits of living here, instead of just listing all my building projects.

Each evening, before I go to bed, I go outside. Now, as most of you know, that is necessary because we don't have indoor plumbing yet, so a visit to the outhouse is required before retiring for the night. But since I have on my coat and boots anyway, I take a little walk around in the dark before I turn in. If I were not forced to go outside, I would probably not have this little ritual, but it has become terribly important to me. In the summer, I would walk out on the ridge and stare at all the stars. There are so many more here than anywhere I've lived in quite awhile, that I couldn't get enough of them. The milky way was a great smear of light across the sky and I tried to identify some of the constellations I have not been able to see before. Lately, though, it has been too cloudy for star gazing. Winter has come and we have had snow and clouds most days.

A few days ago, snow had fallen all day, but at night the sky began to clear and the moon came out. It was not a full moon, so not a bright spotlight on the world, but it was big and clear enough to gently light up the snow that was clinging to all the trees and lying in a soft blanket everywhere. It is hard to imagine if you have never seen it, but moonlight in a snowy forest in the mountains is the most sublime vision in the world. The wind had stopped and the world was still. The forest was luminous with the soft silver glow of moonlight reflected by snow. Every tree was illuminated by its bright load of snow. Every track of a passing animal stood out in blue shadows. An owl hooted softly but insistently. I walked through the woods enveloped in the magical light. Beauty flooded over me, and I did not want to go inside. Even the cold felt gentle with the lack of wind. Eventually, I gave up and walked back and went inside to get ready for bed. Coming through the door from that silver cold into the cozy golden warmth of the cabin was like entering another world, also wonderful and beautiful, but on a more human scale. How did I ever get lucky enough to have this life? Unlike Robert Frost, I do not have miles to go before I sleep, and I can stop as long as I like by these woods on a snowy evening.