January thaw

January thaw --

deer hoof prints & fallen leaves

sinking through snow foam

January thaw, early this year. Wild geese flying north. Wild turkeys feeding on fallen corn in the thawing fields. Last year's blizzard withering under spring-like warmth. Snow plastered on the north side of trees, gone. Snow on the ground, fragile frozen foam, pierced by deer hooves, carved by the dark warmth of fallen leaves and twigs, curling around clumps of grass and moss, forming strange, heart-shaped masks. Snow on the erratic boulder receding, snow melt dripping down the stoic face.