Subtle Days of Cold and Snow

Two days of quiet weather. The land still, frozen hard, snow-covered. The sky pale with clouds in delicate shades of blue, grey and pink. Tracks cover the ground, scatterings of rabbit prints darting towards exposed clumps of faded dry grass, purposeful straight lines of a fox, running then walking then running again. A buzzard wheels high overhead, silent. From inside the wood comes the harsh chatter of a jay. The only other sound is the crunch of boots on crisp snow. Frost feathers are growing on the tall dead grass and reed stems. Distant hills are smooth and white, textures hidden by the snow and the soft light. This is winter at peace.