I stepped my way through all the travelers after my roommate and I jumped out of the taxi and dashed onto my train with minutes to spare. I put my hood up and my headphones on and left the city. The drive to my family's house was through the rapidly falling snow, which had followed a couple of days of subzero temperatures. The snow was so thick on the ground when I arrived, that I wished I had brought my snowpants and gloves so that I could go and roll around in it.
My dad pointed out a bird to me in the corner by the edge of the woods, a larger bird about the size of my hand and forearm. I caught it landing and we watched it with its head down, poking at the ground with its beak.
"That's a Kestrel. I'm thinking about making a nest for it."
"What do you make a Kestrel's nest out of anyways?" I wondered out loud.
"A box. Where it can lay eggs."
I envisioned that, and watched the bird lift off after a minute and spread its tail like a fan as it shot upward. It had distinct white markings spread across the tail when it fully flared.
And today I've been watching a fawn. On the drive from the train station, we saw a small herd of deer hanging out in the front lawn of someone's house. This is where they go when they are chilling. This one has been standing at the edge of the woods, in the same place where I saw the falcon. There is a runoff of water from where it drains from uphill there, and it seems to be the spot where animals like to gather. I had my camera close by and got a quick snapshot. An hour later I went back to the window and she was still there, joined by another.
The weather warmed up and the massive piles of snow that have accumulated all over the house have been collapsing like bombs as they slide off one part of the roof to another. Anything above freezing here outside of Chicago feels almost balmy. The sound of the water droplets from melting ice and the sight of icycles liquifying has set a rhythm to the day.
