A trip out of the city
into the surreal northland
to visit children and grandchildren.
October birthdays to celebrate
Little ones to hold and cuddle and play.
Fifteen hundred kilometers
of snow packed highway
A road trip adventure
to the land of the aurora borealis
undulating across the midnight sky
and belying the snow storm ahead.
Just barely outside the
city
a doe appears
delicate in her beauty
quickly escaping the roadway
and melting into the shadows of the forest.
Further north, a red hawk
swoop close
gracefully diving into the ditch beside me
as Nature provides food for another day;
Rising into the air, kill in claw
heading homeward.
A lynx appears
the most beautiful one I have ever seen,
healthy coat shining in the sunlight.
A moment passes as we gaze at each other
before he moves along on his way.
Two black arctic foxes. .
.
I did not even know these foxes
could be of that color . . .
shining silken in the sunlight
against newly fallen snow
racing swiftly, chasing rabbits
into the forest's beckoning cover.
A majestic golden eagle
settles by the roadside
feasting on a fresh kill
surrounded by ebon colored ravens
awaiting leftovers.
To my surprise and joy,
the eagle glances up at me
as I slow to watch him return to his dinner
and then again proceed onward.
Snowbirds, hundreds of
them
startled into the air with each passing vehicle
only to return to the roadway once again
pecking at the gavel and snow pack.
A huge grey owl,
so still in the evening twilight
he almost escaped my vision.
Sentry duty in the evening shadows,
silently perched upon a bridge standard
and gazing into the distance.
Glimpses of Nature's beauty
as I travel ever northward
on a lonely snow packed roadway
pristine in its quiet and solitude
though desolate in its beauty.
Arriving safely in
Yellowknife,
the air crisp and cold,
to the waiting arms
of loving and excited grandchildren
and the warmth of a daughter's loving home.
(c) 2001 Vampyra
