PAX VOBISCUM, FOR A MOMENT

So, yesterday we walked in a Nature Area in Maryland, by the Chesapeake Bay, walked and walked until we could walk no more - both because our bodies were worn out and the day had fallen into darkness.  Walked to rid ourselves of holiday eating, holiday stressing, world weariness and angst, soul sadness and grief.  Walked through the winter woods, crunching over frozen leaves and ruts, walked by the Bay as darkness fell and the sun went down in a fiery ball behind the Bay Bridge, as flocks and formations of geese flew in overhead honking their sunset salute.  Saw yellow-rumped warblers, many kinds of sparrows (or, as our Bird Guru calls them: LBJ's - for Little Brown Jobs), jays, cardinals, and at a short distance in the top of a winterbare tree, a bald eagle.  We watched it for some time through our binoculars, then watched it as it took off and sailed away along the shoreline.  It was, indeed, an eagle. I share with you the evening sky over a frozen pond in the wetlands along the trail.  Passing on to you the peace that our afternoon with the grasses, birds, trees, and creatures brought to us - if only temporarily.