New
Year’s Day, and up pops a bunny rabbit to greet us.
The
appearance of wild animals has always been a good omen for me of the endurance
of life. When Mum died, two deer wandered across the snowy field ; when our
grey cat Gato died, a stag deer stood and watched, then scooted off into deep
snow; when our black cat Negra died, a cawing raven landed on a tall elm tree,
then winged off into a clear blue sky. Whenever deer, foxes, wolves, turkeys,
even raccoons and skunks cross the landscape, I feel a frisson of excitement
that the wild is right here outside our window. Now, just after the winter
solstice, as the days get longer and a new year is upon us, rabbit tracks in
the snow lead to a bundle huddled up facing into the sun, sheltered against the
cold wind. The thermometer reads minus 20 Celsius out there, but it is nice and toasty by the wood-fire in
our sunny house.
May
the New Year bring health and happiness - and occasional encounters with the
magnificent wild - to you and yours.
