My Shadow

  Today I park the car at the end of my road and start walking. Its hotter than I realized but I keep on. I walk back the way I came for a half mile, turn around
and start back. As I walk I look back and see my shadow as it follows close behind. As I walk I look around. The sky is baby blue. There are clouds scattered about that look as tho someone stretched out cotton balls and tossed them up there.  A gentle breeze is blowing and it cools me slightly until I get below the hill and it stops. As I get to
the gate at the road through the woods I see someone
has moved the post again and folded it against the gate. I put it back in the hole and twist it tight.  Someone has come in from the river and transpassed
again. They ignore the "no transpassing" signs or tear
them down. I wish I could fix it so they couldn't get through.
Anyway, I start down the road walking softly on the leaves. I look up and just around the bend I see movement. I stop dead still! Its some turkey buzzards walking around. In a moment they sense I am there and take flight. They fly out of the trees also! There must be ten or twelve of them here. I look around to see why they are there. I see nothing! I wander around the edge of the woods. Still nothing! I sniff the air!
theres no scent of anything dead. I start out again to
the river. When I get there, I can see its high and
muddy. From past experience I know my tree is underwater. Nevertheless, I start toward it.
The ground is soft and I don't make much noise as I approach a by pass from the stream. There is movement in the water! I stop! Its a beaver swimming there! I had seen the signs earlier where the trees had been chewed around. I stop he hasn't seen me yet! There's a
small bush between us but I still see him. Oh I wish I had my camera! A chance like this doesn't come by often. He starts wandering my way and I squat down behind the bush. He gets closer, nosing around in the
leaves at the edge of the water. Then he starts out the other side. Its not a beaver, its an otter! I have never seen one up close and personal like this before!  I watch as he walks out on the ridge and disappears at
the river.  I go on to the stream and see the water is backed up
from the river. I'm thirsty and I go upstream a little way where the water runs clear. I step out on some tree roots at the edge of the water. Squating down I
cup my hands for a cool refreshing drink. It takes
several hands full to satisfy my thirst. Then I dip the cold water on my legs and arms to cool me. I wet my hands and put the cool water on my neck. On more
cooling drink and I leave.
Back to the road I head back. I come to the spot where the buzzards were and they haven't returned.  Maybe they were just cooling in the shade. If there
had been something dead they would have circled back.
  I crawl through the fence and back up the hill to the highway. There's the breeze again as I top the hill. I walk on and look around. The clouds are
reforming. The sun comes from behind a cloud and is
hot on my legs and arms. In moments its as tho I had
never dippid the water on my body. The sun is even
hotter on my black shorts and dark pink shirt.  The school bus passes and for an instant, a cooling breeze. My shadow is ahead of me now leading the way home. The bus returns and another cool breeze for an
instant. A gentle breeze blows over my left shoulder .
An my shadow leads on...