The days that parade from November's end until the opening of Spring seem an umber monotony
interspersed by icy blue brilliance.
In February, before an impending snowfall, I donned my walking gear
and set on a familiar path. My mind was full, you see. So --- down the little
lane that passed the flint gray houses built so long ago. Past the sheep
meadow and over a furrowed field. Along the dark tree-tunnelled path and
through the sucking mud of the cattle track to the expressionless red brick
hulk of Nether Hall. And there I stopped.
I felt a gentle prickle on my neck and another on my cheek. The predicted
blizzard, I smiled. I squished along the track and paused beside the gate
where the footpath departed over the manor's grounds. There through a distant
ground floor window a bare, callow light described an uncurtained frame,
then went out. The wind suddenly picked up, a freight train moving through
the trees, driving snow hard through the branches. The cows lowed with disquiet,
telling me I was far from home.
I turned my face into the wind, set my cap hard down, and trudged
back up the cattle track. Over another pasture. Into a dark stand of pine.
I heard someone laughing from far away. I looked over my shoulder. Another
surge of snow roared over the fields. Hurry home, it said. Hurry home.
I slapped my wet cap across my thigh and closed the door behind me.
"Looks nasty out there," Judy said between sips of her tea. "It is," I replied.
"It will be nice to see Spring again." >
Roughly speaking, eighty-eight days remain of our adventures.
Christopher completed his Terra Nova testing in
March ... a deal we made with the Superintendent when Chris was excluded from school this year. I was
more anxious than he was believing my work either validated or refuted by his scores. We won't know
these until May. As far as I'm concerned the school year is over, so I am starting Chris on the next
with sojourns into Algebra, Biology, and more composition.
He will learn far more from tomorrow's road trip as we load into
a people transport (the four of us plus Aunts Patti and Barbara) and head
north to York, Hadrian's Wall, The Lake District, Liverpool, North Wales,
and Oxford. Enough said there, I should think.
As for moving, we have begun to clear out our closets. We've given
away or sold off some of the items that crossed over with us but shouldn't
cross back. Judy and I are scouting for work ... not a simple matter when
the job is miles and months away. I've finished another part of my on-line
WebTech course, and only a little remains to secure my certification. Routines
drive us onward, like a hang glider racing to the cliff. We'll either soar
into our new life in America or land with a resounding thud.
That's our brief, foreboding tale! We leave in a few hours time,
and there's still a little packing left to do. No worries though, mate:
there'll be pictures to see next month! Cheers!