i'm spending some quality time with my sister and her bunch coming up to the holiday later this week.  being from the land where the wind never stops, i'm finding the area where she lives outside conroe amazing.

did i mention the wind blows where i'm from.  her place sits on a small acreage off old conroe road.  milling about this afternoon i was struck by the quiet, but more than that, by the still.  the dearth of sound pales to  the absence of any wind, no current of air sufficient to stir the smallest blade of grass. absolute calm.

the quiet is profound, if not absolute, broken only by the distant raucous cry of a crow. in the background can be heard the muted drone of traffic on the freeway, reduced to nothingness by distance and the woods between here and there.

in the early mornings deer, mostly does and yearlings, filter out of the greenbelt behind the house to feed.  this morning a group of eight stood with ears on point, attention focused as one to something they, nor i, could see.  after a time whatever had piqued their interest passed and all began to bed down in the open less than a stone throw from where i stood watching. 

the life of riley, i tell ya'. then again it is late november here with it's coolish mornings and warm afternoons; not june july, august, and september with their stifling heat and humidity.

 i'm having a grand old time.  going back home, to the land where the wind never stops blowing, where the only trees to be found were planted at some point; going back to where spring like weather is long gone and far from a return --  will just plain suck.

i guess i'd better get busy enjoying all this.  I wonder if she takes all she has for granted.  i wonder if all the beauty, the serenity of her country idyll ever slips out of the consciousness like the kitchen wallpaper.  surely not, huh?

aio