January 10, 2009

Frosty Wishes for a New Year

In 20 years I have never seen the canal outside my wheelhouse frozen.

Yesterday I awoke to a silent frosty flat surface, floating leaves frozen in place. The gentle hum of water flowing beneath the hull silent. A grabbed the closest thing at hand, an apple, and heaved it onto the ice to see what happened. It bounced, skidded and then pinged across the canal coming to rest 50 feet away. Frozen. Half-an inch thick.

The kingfishers are curious. The little grebes are hiding. The moorhens are walking on the banks. I, too, wonder how long this will last and when will 'global warming' please start?

So until my internet connection is repaired (10 days to two weeks) I remain quiet, cold and thoughtful- reading, knitting and ...playing cards.




1956 Canal du Midi- Toulouse

Here's to all good things in a brand New Year.

1 comment:

Kitt said...

Oh my, that's chilly! Do you need to worry about your hull?

Hope things warm up soon!