A typical ride in for me consists of 37 miles of mostly a two lane road with very little traffic. Today was no different but for a few surprises...
I woke up at 3:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. Wally was awake too so I figured I might as well get up, get showered and go to work. I was on the road by 4:10am.
I drove from the cabin all the way to Hwy. 100 before I saw another vehicle. This is probably somewhere in the vicinity of 10-15 miles.Very few houses even had a light on at this time of the morning. It's a solitary feeling but a good one - do you know what I mean?
The sun is not up but there is a faint glow to the east that gives promise of its rising. As I follow the highway through the winding hills, I can see the mountains in the foreground. The scenery has changed again and once again my eyes are trying to take it all in. As the season slowly moves from Fall into Winter, my mind tries in earnest to capture the perfect words to describe what I see and feel so you can imagine it along with me as the days go by.
Most of the leaves have fallen and in doing so they have created a carpet of coppery pile that drifts up and into the woods as I drive by. I pass three gas stations, only two of which are open. There are six traffic lights throughout the entire trip but only one of them is active at this time of the morning. The others are flashing either red or yellow. I have just one vehicle in front of me.
The heater is on and warming my feet, the radio is set to WSM, 650AM where I can listen to the old country western songs and day dream about living back in those days. Waylon Jennings sings "I Don't Think Hank Done It This Way" and try as I might to sing with him, the words elude me. I let him do the singing, he was better at it anyway :) Jerry Lee Lewis comes on next with "Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire." I can't help but sing-a-long with that one even if I don't know the words! Already my morning is making me smile.
My mind kept returning to the cabin and thoughts of being out hunting for my first deer. I picture myself sitting down by the gate with my rifle at my side and my carhart jacket zipped to the neck. I know I'm going to be cold. I know the deer are going to sense me there so I get just the one shot. While this is going on in my head, I turn the corner onto a very narrow road where the speed limit is just 35 mph. As I make my way slowly down the road I come upon the deer crossing sign and just what do you think I see on the road right in front of me? That's right - a female deer taking her time doing exactly what the sign warned me of. She's in no fear of me and I am simply in awe of her. She stops and looks at me from the middle of the road. By now, of course, I've stopped my car. There are no other cars around. It's just her and I. She has no idea that she has just made my day - possibly my week. She is beautiful as she stands there, her ears pulled back and her white tail high. It was probably only seconds before she continued on her way but it felt like forever from where I was sitting
I wanted her to come back and do it all over again. As I watched her climb the hill and disappear into the woods I said to her, "I'm glad you made it safely this time..."
I know I had a smile on my face for the whole rest of the drive. I pulled into the parking lot and even the guard was not on duty yet. There are a few cars in the lot but for the most part it's empty. I gather my stuff and make for the door. The entryway is very well lit and fairly long. About half way down there is a table and bench where people sometimes stop to sit and smoke or just hang out. At this time of the morning, there's no one at the table. I can smell the pines that line the walkway - they look like Christmas trees. Just before I come to the table, a rabbit runs across the sidewalk right in front of me. He's in a hurry! He darts into the bushes and is gone before I know it. It made me think of Alice In Wonderland where someone (was it the rabbit?) was late for a very important date! lol
A few more steps and I'm in the building ready to begin my work day. It's cold in here even with my sweatshirt and jacket on. My fingers are freezing as I type but I had to tell this story and I had to tell it this morning before the feeling went away. I hope you feel as if you were with me this morning. I tried to tell it so that you would as it was very special.
Enjoy your day :) Thanks for reading.
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oh i just loved the ride this morning, except for the thought of you killing that momma deer. i can just see you now showing up at work with a dead deer strapped down and bleeding all over the top of your car and planning your next meal as you sit at your desk !! eeewwww. ok so back to the good stuff...sounds like a wonderful way to start the early morning :) except now for the cold and the wanting to kill that mommy deer !! hope your fingers thawed out, maybe with more people in the office it makes it warmer for ya :) thanks for rubbing it in how wonderful your drive was, as you well know the traffic here is busy at anytime of the day, 1000 gas stations, 500 fast food chains and of course every store along the way, the jerks on the road going down silver star, the school bus stopping every 300 ft, the 100 lights i sat at looking at everyones cars and wishing i had one instead of my skull mobile that decided to idol low and almost stall out, the top half paint all faded off and thought to myself i now drive a trailer hood car to match my trailer. JOY only came as i prayed to God. i do everyday on the way to work :) as days go by i long and long to be there with you to enjoy what your eyes see, im thankful that i can feel what you see thru your blog and i will think of it as i drive home from Crime Hills with the road rage and other crazy people just trying to get home :) should be a nice drive home today thanks to you :) xoxo
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