Friday May 31, 2002

I know I'm *late* to work when the sun is coming up and I'm barely leaving town! The nice thing is, I like to take the back roads, and it was a lovely sunrise through the hills... I was driving down out of the first group of hills just a touch after 5 am this morning. The sky was still mostly dark, but a touch of blue and pink was showing over my right shoulder. I came around the last curve and took the turn through the hay fields. The first rays of dawn revealed square bails (sp?) of hay dotting the near field. I rolled down my window to inhale the sweet scent. Further off, I could see fields mown and raked in to long golden rows. A few red-wing black birds were already on patrol on the fence-posts, calling out their territorial warnings in the cool morning air. There's a stable a little ways further down the road, and a young girl stood outside on a crate brushing her bay. A glimps, really, is all I got, but I imagine her telling the horse her hopes and dreams, and stealing a little pre-dawn peace from the world. I drive on, stealing a little of their peace and adding it to my day. Another field of hay, this one cut, baled and stacked high. A simple, hand-painted sign with the single word "Hay" neatly lettered on it and a telephone number is nailed to a fence-post. There are lights on in the windows of the last rural house before the freeway. Chickens are already hovering by the front door. The sun is about to burst full-strength from behind the last of the hills, and soon, the day will be full of hustle and bustle - but for one more moment, I hide out on the the narrow blacktop of a small country road.

Blessings and peace to you.

Karla