Purple Morning Majesty

Shorter days take away the golden mist mornings^¹ of earlier weeks leaving only the light of Albertsons lamp posts for the mid-winter commute. Today I was uplifted in that half-light by a “freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow”^² transforming the solitary ride into something ethereal.

1. Trail Image, “Minus Six by the River”: http://trailimage.com/minus-six-by-the-river
2. Paul Simon, “I Am a Rock”

Some trick of pre-dawn light briefly imbued the moment with an extraordinary mauve. There was no one else, nothing moving, the grand, purple performance just for me. I felt fortunate.

The royal hue faded quickly leaving quiet snow and water where summer would see flocks of colorful inflatables bearing shouts and peals of laughter downriver.

A stranger was standing at my bike when I returned from the small patch of woods I’d entered along the river bank. “Did you get it?” he asked, slightly surprised at my approach from the brush. When I wasn’t sure what he meant, he explained a fluffy red fox had been following me. I never saw it.