Winter

The water on the intracoastal waterway near my house was frozen a few days ago.  The limbs of the trees are bare.  The days are short and the weather is cold.  

The lines have been pulled from the rigging of Spartina.  I washed and rewhipped them in November.  The are piled inside the boat with the spars.  It is a bit of a mess.  A tub of batteries, a new spark plug for the outboard, a piece of bungee cord, my white rubber boots, called Wanchese Slippers by my fishing guide friend from the outer banks, all lay scattered about the boat.  

It is three weeks until pitchers and catchers report, the first hint of Spring.  I'll know then that warm weather is at least on the way.  I'll be on the night shift in February, it'll give me a chance to work on the boat in the mornings before I go in to work.  I've got to start making lists of things to do.  

In four months we'll make the trip.