Finding a Clear Path

A few weeks back Colleen over at Loose Leaf Notes quoted some of Jim Minick's "Finding a Clear Path" published by the West Virginia University Press. Her recommendation sent me online and a week later my copy of the book arrived. I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. Jim Minick has a way of writing that makes you think he is talking to you alone. With every chapter you want to continue the conversation and add your own experiences. This is another of those books that you don't sit down and read in a couple of settings, you have to enjoy this one a chapter at a time. So far I have only made it a little over a third of the way through, but each and every page is enjoyable by itself.

As a bit of serendipity, the chapter I came to tonight spoke of Great Horned Owls. Ya gotta wonder about these kinds of coincidences...

In this same vein, I came across a quote from "the rural life" by Verlyn Klinkenborg on someone's blog (pardon my lack of brain cells). It caused me to chase down the excerpt on Amazon which really wetted my appetite, which caused me to buy the book when I found it on Daedus Books for a pittance and since I was already placing an order I added it in. This author is a wordsmith. He can put together a sentence, then tie it to others in a paragraph, add additional paragraphs to complete an essay that leaves me breathless with envy. Just speaking about binders twine in the way he does, you can almost feel the coarseness as it cuts into your palm as you throw that bale of hay from the loft. Again, this is another of those books you take your time reading. I am up to May and looking forward to the summer.

When you add in Fred First's "Slow Road Home", it begins to look like my reading habits have really changed. Blame it on the blogs, I guess.

The view from my front porch...

As I walked out the door this morning, this is the sight that greeted me...Ya'll have a great day!

 

An evening visit

Last evening before bed I decided to walk out and enjoy some of this nice fall weather before it grinds to a halt. I wondered out to the center of the field behind the house and heard an uncommon sound for this neighborhood, the hoot of an owl. Just for the fun of it I decided to answer. And thus started a conversation that lasted for over an hour and was joined by at least one other owl. With the occasional flash of a lightning bug (firefly to those of you in the mountains) to place accent on the comment of one of us or the other, we talked of kings and things of world wide importance. I must admit, I found I could agree with just about everything my guest had to say. But then, how do you argue with "hoo, hoohoo, hoo, hoo" or "hoohoo-hoohoo---hoohoo-hoohoo"?

As the night was very dark with just a sliver of a moon low on the western horizon, I cannot identify my visitors. From the size as they ghosted overhead, I expect they were either Great Horned or Barred Owls. They would sit at the top of a tree and talk back at me for a while then fly across me to a tree on the other side and continue the conversation. Most likely they were a mated pair, and like most married couples just being sociable by not leaving me out of the conversation.

When I came back to the house and informed my wife of my conversation, well, let's just say she wasn't thrilled to hear I had a visit with an owl or two. I guess you could say their are some old wives out there whose tails still have credence even after all these years of civilizing influences. Go figure...Any-hoo, I hope my new friends come and visit again I would love to drab a photo as they float overhead.

Late note: After listening to the call recordings on the sites above it would appear that my visitors were Great Horned Owls.