Write-In-The-Rain Paper

I've been sitting on some "write-in'the-rain" paper designed for biologists, loggers and such. Wonderful stuff. It has a mind of its own when accepting various media, but it does let me sketch out in inclement weather. Yesterday was wonderful. I could stand amongst falling snow and sketch away.

A stillness surrounds me. Big, fluffy snowflakes drift down from a grey, windless sky. Cars off in the distance are muffled, making my world smaller and wilder. I can almost forget I am in a city park. I walk over to the second pond. Lots of nearby goose chatter; a killdeer calls from across the pond, “Killllldeeeer”; a string of trees are reflected in the gray water. I savor the mix of quiet water, silent snow, and the morning greetings of the geese.

It isn’t even freezing now, but did last night. All is frosted in white and starting to drip even as more snow falls. Coot come out on land to feed and soon gather short blankets of snow on their dark shoulders and sprinkles on their black heads. My paper is getting covered with slush … but the snow just keeps getting better and better.