her couriers fill the air

A single bell rang out its song, the feathered musician adept at playing her purple toy. A dog clacked over the floor to get to the futon. Then, silence. The deafing silence that is only heard when a person is absent. Carm isn't particularly noisy, but my brain must be accustomed to the sound of him - I wonder if he experienced the same thing when I was in NZ for a month.

Carm was in town helping his mom get settled into her new home. We moved her and some of her belongings yesterday. I think it will work out well as everyone speaks Italian. Apparently she's already having animated conversations with some of the other residents. Alzheimer's has caused her to lose much of her English, so her previous home, predominantly English, was isolating.

My pleasure today was luxuriating in a hot bath with the sun streaming in the window, the zebra stripe shadow of the blinds playing across the wall. The strains of my favorite music coloured the air. As I lay back I could see the blue, blue sky through the slats of the window and the grey skeleton of a tree that will soon be resplendent in green.

Later, outside with the dogs, I could hear the honk of a flock of Canada Geese looking for someplace to land, familiar sounds of spring on its way. Much of the snow is melted away, but there are still patches of treacherous ice and most of the grassy areas still have a few inches left. All three dog noses were glued to the ground, snuffling the scents that are emerging as the snow melts away. Spike ran at top speed wherever he went.

"Oh, Spring is surely coming,
Her couriers fill the air;
Each morn are new arrivals,
Each night her ways prepare;
I scent her fragrant garments,
Her foot is on the stair."
~John Burroughs