Sunset, Thursday, 3 December 2009

William Theodore Van Doren. Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on paper, 16 x 20.

Sunset seemed to be happening on schedule, but I had one more woodcutting chore. Lucky for me, because things really started happening during the twilight portion of the program.

Yesterday and today tempted me with different ways to say early December feels a little out of focus. Shepherding Flint yesterday on a five-mile-or-so off-leash ‘walk’ (his part is more like a run, and longer), in the rain, I had foolishly just believed the forecast and wasn’t dressed for 39°, and the low dark clouds (and my numb hands and feet) belonged to midwinter. 

This afternoon I had the impression of the sky as a big watery blue bog of early spring.

But then the days aren’t out of focus except in these conceits. Early December shows us exactly what it is, and these are the days – the days we’re dealt.