When the glowing orange sun rose up over the horizon, a hint of magic filled the air. A chattering flock of ravens surfed wildly on the winds. Ravens’ blue-black feathers glistened as they coasted to a graceful landing in the trees, shaking snow from the branches. With wings spread wide open, they soared to the ground to hold council in the frozen field beside my house. I wondered what Ravens were up to besides calling me out to play.
I ventured into the woods, delighted by the vibrant green forest dusted with sparkling white snow and embraced by the brilliant blue sky. My spirited dog, Jasmine, romped passionately through the underbrush. She gathered a universe of information from animal tracks printed in the snow. She knew who had been by and how long ago and if there still was a chance of catching up.
When I stopped beside a creek to soak in the deep woody silence, I noticed the thread of a spider’s web swaying slightly in the breeze. Hanging in a graceful arc between the branches of a cedar tree, the delicate fiber was lined with snowflakes.
Each individual snowflake was clearly visible. Starry crystals of all different sizes and shapes were gathered along a shimmering thread. Enchanted by this discovery, I looked around with heightened awareness and more discerning eyes to find the woods filled with snowy spider webs.
There were sparkling threads strung from broad cedar branches to the tips of the neighboring pines. There were glittering fibers dangling around the spindly bushes beside the icy creek. There were ornate strings of tiny snowflakes stretching all the way across the path, crystalline fibers connecting tree to tree to tree to tree.
Breathing in the scent of snowy morning and cedar and pine, I reached out with shimmering fibers, like those among the trees, connecting my heart to each heart, to her, his and their hearts, to all hearts in the forest and far beyond.
