Severe Clear

A trip down to B's. He'd saved me a trip to town by picking up a bottle of whiskey which I knew I'd need tonight. Last time at the store I was thinking about the winter larder and spaced out. The larder is 'a place to keep bacon'. Spent the afternoon in the woods, collecting sticks I had propped against tree trunks. Then I sawed stove wood from them by hand, with the bow-saw, just because it's not as loud as the chainsaw. The house is easy to heat, nights at 30 degrees, and there's no reason to dip into the pile of oak. Got the house warm and put the pot of soup on the stove. The birds were very active all day, and those damned young squirrels that chatter like crazy when they perceive I've invaded their space. I have to admit I fuck with them, take my sling-shot and bounce marbles off the branches they're sitting on. They get really pissed off. I love that tail thing they do. The crows were back today, and I had mice for them; the field mice are moving back indoors, and I have three traps, set with peanut butter. I catch a lot of mice, this time of year. It's clear, rapid cooling, and they're saying, now, it could get down into the teens tonight. Then it's supposed to be in the fifties for the rest of the week, with some frost at night. I'd best bring in some supplies. I want to cook a pot roast, for which I'll roast potatoes and other root vegetables separately and serve on the side with gravy, then it'll become a stew, then a hash. The nature of things. It all becomes hash. Is a pretzel the crossed arms of prayer? Parsnips, when they've been kissed by frost, are the sweetest thing. A tang of watercress. Every year I try and harvest the Tim Horton fall display of squash before it rots. I've even been guilty of making a gruel from feed corn. There was a piece on NPR today about eating acorns. I had to laugh. I've been eating them for years. I make a dried acorn- tofu jerky that will outlast the apocalyptic end of it all. The last thing we need is a recipe. Grind meal, add some garlic, pound it with some fat. Fry thin cakes over a twig fire. Sure. I can do that. A sharp blade, and enough time, I could make a mold; and then, if I could kill a whale, I'd have a lamp.