A few thoughts from the morning we left WV...

Fall comes early in the mountains. The fifty shades of green that distinguish the fields, flowers, and trees that grow up the ridges and hollows are accentuated by the bright burnt orange tips of the sumac leaves as the first sign of the end of summer.  A heavy fog lays in valleys this morning. Wilson yawns as he stretches on the porch and his sad ol’ hound dog eyes gaze up at me apathetically. He looks sort of tired, and maybe he should be, he’s been real rough of the coon population this summer and they don’t all go down easy.  They would have overrun the apple trees if it hadn’t been for ol’ Wilson’s patrol. A thick dew gives all that it covers an extra shine in the early light even though the sun hasn’t yet bested the ridge. It’s the third week of August and the morning temperatures are in the forties. Abe made it out onto the porch with his pants stuffed in the top of his boots. He follows Wilson’s stretching routine and finds all six-foot-two of himself. He’ll be leaving the mountains for Bridgewater Virginia today, back to school. Jesse leans on a porch post with his hands in his pockets.  He’s been up packing too, he leaves today to head further up the state to West Virginia Wesleyan. Ben and his new wife will be stopping by later on their way back to PA.  As for me, Erin and I are heading to Texas. Four boys in four states, that spreads us out enough to keep us from getting into too much trouble. Dad’s been up since who-knows-when getting things “sorted” (as the English say) with the Lord. Mom’s inside jokingly making an angry face at a pancake that didn’t flip the way she wanted it to. Dad’s prayer for our safe travel ends when a fella from our church saunters under the spruce trees to give us a farewell hug and down the lane we go. The world is still and quiet. The deer receded back into the tree line as the critter night shift goes off duty.  Tractors sit silent in the fields while the farmers wait for the sun to burn the fog off of the hay cut yesterday. A little further down the road grandpa’s cows are up and on the munch and Brother Bill is working in his apple trees. A West Virginia drive, plenty of curves and serves, both to stay on the road and to miss opossums that didn’t make it across the night before.   A crow jumps up and declaratively perches on a fence post  He kinks his neck to watch us go by and as his black eye and penetrating stare meet mine we both wonder where the other one’s going. Who knows about him, but I’m headed to Texas.

~Nathan