Far Far Away...

It’s 9PM on a Saturday night in October and I’m feeling the dual residency thing again.

My days have been grey for a week now. The Scots have a word for this weather. Driech. It’s about as damp and cold as the word sounds. I’ve not only been sporting long sleeves all week but layers of long sleeves. Three layers most days. I forgot how the humidity penetrates cotton and can make a cool day feel cold.

But my mind is hanging out in some far off place where I’m surrounded by azure skies and golden bales of hay. The air is merely crisp and once twilight hits, the sky falls black but no one cares. Hundreds of stars wink at the people below navigating their way through corn field mazes and autumn orange pumpkin patches.

This is also the time of year I seem to notice a few more cowboy boots, a couple more pick-up trucks, and hear a handful more country songs. It’s harvest and the farmers are about their business.

This is the month where I should be blanketed with a warm pallet of colors or the spicy smells of ciders.

I sit here in the monochromatic dreich... but I'm listening to country music.