Walking along a gravel road early in the morning has to be one of the greatest simple pleasures there is. This morning the sun was translucently veiled by the rising mist from an early morning frost. When the the air is still, the white noise from the highway is a distant presence. A couple of planes in the air. Typical.

Just after 8, the school bus goes by. One student gets picked up across the road from us. Other than that, there are few vehicles. Yet, it is noisy. The traffic of thousands of birds sounds forth from the trees at the edges of the fields. In one wood, a gaggle of geese are kicking up a ruckus. In the other one, I can hear a wild turkey.

The air is particularly extraordinary. It's still waking up. It hasn't the feeling of being used yet. Fresh, it seeps deep into my lungs. I'm free from the staleness of the winter house air. Air that I'm refreshing, like a web page gone awry, daily, through a small open window or a cracked open door.

I could walk forever in this light and space. It's different at night and it's now warm enough to enjoy nighttime walks. With tonight being Earth Hour and the sky predicted to be clear, I may well be able to enjoy yet another simple gravel road joy.