The Day Before
It is Christmas Eve.
Yesterday the project of the day was gift wrapping. The upstairs filled with the aroma of pumpkin bread, banana bread loaves, baking in the oven. I could hardly leave the gift-prep job to others on the team, since they were doing such a fine job in the kitchen. I wrapped item after item doing my amateurish best. As I worked I listened to a podcast, Philosophize This by Stephen West. Stimulated, educated, adding a colorful wrapper to family gifts, I knew that I was blessed. Scissors, tape, some more tape, and cut another piece of wrapping paper, this one a bit larger so that it fits……
Decided to take a walk in the nearby forest preserve in the afternoon. Since winter has set in, I’ve seen very few birds in the backyard, despite the addition of several feeders filled with seed. What creature is not attracted to a free meal? Bothered by the silence, I walked into Almond Marsh looking and listening. 
Nothing. Silence, — just my footfall on a carpet of damp leaves, their decaying elements returning to soil from which they came. The tall cottonwoods towered above me, some thirty to forty feet. Yesterday the wild marsh was serene and silent, on a fifty degree winter’s day. I’ll never know the cause of the absence of birdsong. That’s as it should be. Maybe they saw me coming…..
In the evening Laura and I traveled a few minutes north to Geneva. We left the vehicle at the train station parking lot and took a walk down third street. Third street is a boulevard lined on both sides with independent, locally owned shops and restaurants. The old Kane County courthouse is on
the far end of Third Street close to State Street which crosses the Fox River. Walking along in the mild evening we enjoyed shop windows, and especially the community Christmas tree in front of the Courthouse. The tree offers a seasonal counterpoint to the war memorial, honoring the veterans, two big three inch naval guns poised for action. The magnificently lit community tree, with Santa present in his house, just a few steps away, will be taken down in a few days.
The two naval guns are permanent, to be seen year round.
