"Dust of Snow"

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Robert Frost’s poem came to mind several times today, as I had several little joys that made disappointments not sting quite so much.

I had headed into Charlottesville for a workshop on fall and winter gardening. I want to grow vast quantities of cabbage and make vast quantities of sauerkraut.

But though the email reminder and the website advertised the start as 7pm, the time should have said 5:30-7, and I missed it entirely. That part of the day I rued.

My friend Johanna, on her way to join me, suggested we walk The Mall (a walking mall designed by the same man who designed Pearl Street in Boulder, so we feel right at home). We stopped at a coffee shop and sipped drinks outside, enjoying the unexpected freedom of no immediate responsibilities. That was my “dust of snow.”

On the way home, I bought out the grocery store of their meager supply of cane sugar (again). I did a quick calculation, and it is just possible that it will be sufficient until the next time we’re near a grocery store. Rue and thankfulness, mixed.

Phil attended his first men’s meeting with our church. He came away so encouraged by the discernment and thoughtfulness that attends every meeting and interaction he’s had. We feel quite blessed.