Sunday, March 09, 2008

The Day After

I haven't the foggiest idea how much snow has fallen in the last twenty-four hours, but it is rightfully measured in feet and not inches. In some places, all that can be seen are the tops of the smaller trees, and village streets have almost disappeared - their contours can be traced and that is all. It is going to take us several days to dig our way out of this storm, and the snow must be shoveled rather than blown out, because the banks are so high that the blower can't heave the snow up and over.

The sensible thing to do would be to emulate the buffalo at Battle River Farm near Perth - I have been watching the great beasts this winter and have become fond of them - of their size, their strength, their indomitable will and their forbearance when the Old Winter Mother comes to call.

When heavy snowfall and high winds enter the scene, the buffalo put their heads down, turn their backs to the blizzard and ride the weather out. They took Toni Morrison's words to heart a very long time ago: "If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it".

Are my friends practicing mindfulness? I don't know, but I've become an admirer this winter, and I am just a tad envious of their approach to life in general and bad weather particularly.

4 comments:

Mary Ann said...

I've never seen buffalo except in pictures. Amazing.

Shelli said...

I'm sending you warm thoughts.

kerrdelune said...

Buffalo are impressive creatures - one has to be impressed by creatures so large and strong and hardy. These are farm buffalo and therefore unlikely to have had any experience of life in the wild, but one can picture them in a wild setting like Yellowstone Park, which is home to the last remaining wild buffalo herd on the continent. The decline of the wild buffalo herds is a sad thing.

Anonymous said...

I have seen the buffalo herds of Yellowstone....and as I type I feel the shivers racing up my spine...the word spirit hardly comes close to describing the energy from them. I can only dream about that much snow...it seems surreal to even contimplate it...thanks for opening my minds eye....and letting energy flow in. aisling