The day is greyish
but that didn't keep the robins from going crazy at 5:00 a.m. They thought they had something to cheer about, obviously.
I think about "the long valley" we passed through on Wednesday going back to Missoula from Boise, Idaho. We were driving Highway 55. The mountains opened into a long, high valley. It was ranch country mostly - not picturesque, post-card ranches but working outfits where men and women were struggling to pull a living from the land. The long, high light laid a kind of sadness on the land and buildings in the valley. Life is work, you come to understand as you pass through such territory. There's no movie star loveliness to be found, only the persistent grit of those who labor.
Here, while I was away, farmers have been working their fields. The soil is being smoothed to an even consistency. It's a darkness that will soak up heat during the day, will give it back to the night air.
In Ripon, lawns have been mowed. It's only May 1 - it could snow yet this season, yet those neatly trimmed lawns that have already been mowed. A study in green and white.
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