This past weekend, I drove up into the Mississippi Delta where I met my friend at his fine cabin along the levee.  Over the levee, there is some woodsland that crawls with wildlife.  The land involved is a strip of woods 40 acres wide (1/4 mile) by 2 miles deep reaching to the River. The River is high, having crested last week, so a boat was needed to cross a river chute to get to an area deep in the woods where there remains a huge stand of cottonwood and sycamore.

In the dark, the crossing was tense, suspicious noises from the water teeming with the creatures of the muddy water. The sky calming, so black, the stars reassuring in their constancy, a waning moon on the horizon. Life goes on in the night.

Springtime green, those colors particular to late March and April couldn’t be seen at 5 AM.  Around 5:30, from night quiet, a sudden awakening brought noises of all the life around me.  As I sat against a tree deep in the woods early Saturday morning alone with the noises, my eyes keen for movement, “The Awakening” was almost startling.  In one moment the day began, more reassurance that Life goes on.

It was not long before an owl hoot awoke a turkey, who decided to gobble his waddle off.  I just listened for a while, tried to call to him to get him close enough to see (I don’t shoot them); however, he went the other way, hearing a far more romantic prospect in that direction.  The sun brought the colors, oh, what colors.   My goodness, what a fine morning!