Beauty.
by Jessi Purviance
It is one of those days when the sun doesn't shine long enough to completely fill the valley with light. Shadows arc across the mountainsides, indicating that the empty warmth of winter sunlight will soon disappear.
The snow has been rained on and refrozen during the night to become a sight more stunning than any jewelry gallery could ever display.
It has been transformed into trillions of diamonds, each facet reflecting the sun and glittering wildly. Between the shadows of the pines are dazzling waves of ice covered snow.
My dogs are happy. The snow is so frozen that they can run over the top of it without sinking in. Their paws make soft crunching sounds as they chase each other in circles, scattering powdery clouds of ice flakes into the air.
They stop and take bites of snow, covering their muzzles with the white powder. It makes them look like little old men with giant ears.
My river is deep emerald green today. It is no longer frozen and I can hear the sound of the water splashing over boulders as it winds its way through the canyon.
A herd of elk is startled and I watch them struggle to run up the steep mountainside across the river from me. Their tracks leave long, dark trails through the snow.
Around the corner four white tail deer bounce through the trees, scared by my dogs who chase them for a few feet and then just stop to watch them run.
I am home.
