Driving home on a winter night....

a time of solitude. And one could add silence, but unless you are standing outside, alone, it isn't silent. The heater of the car hums it's soothing-making-warm . A little whoooosh of the tires on nearly dry pavement are what I hear.
All around me the night sky is a deep grayish blue with only a few stars making their way through the overcast. Snow has begun to fall, very fine snow, falling in wisps and swirles. The road home follows the little river, up and out of the coulee. It winds and turns and twists it's way up and out onto the state highway. That seven miles of twist and turns are best navigated slowly, especially at night, and especially in winter. No wolves in my landscape, but the possibility of deer, always, year round. I think about the silence and the color of the sky, so different than on a clear cold night when it is velvety black and sparkles with stars. Tonights sky is like thick, warm velvet laid across the curve of the sky. Without the car, I would wonder what time of night it was? And thinking about that I realize it's not very late, as many lighted window dot the sides of the road. Some yard lights, and my headlights reflect in the many curve ahead signs. I met no cars in the seven miles of the river road, it's as if I am alone in the Universe. One of the Ancient Wise Women, the Elders.
We have snow on the ground now, and even without the moon, there is a soft shimmer of light refected back up to the heavens. It's not really dark with snow on the ground.
The then around one last bend, past the cemetary and the stop sign for the state highway looms ahead. I'm not alone, here is civilization in the form of a well lighted church, and streets, a small park and small business places off in the distance. Two more miles and I'm home. As I come up and over the last hill, heading west, the security lights of The Cottages shine like a beacon in the darkness of the countryside. And here is my turn, onto Meadow Lane, and then onto Cottage Lane and into my garage. Inside my cozy cottage, Ebby waits to welcome me home again. Warm and well lit, it offers shelter, food if I need it and a secure place "to be" in the world. I shut the door against the darkness and cold, and smile at the memory of my drive home on a winter night.