Almost.

The wind almost hit my face like baby chainsaws, almost ripping the skin off; the air so dense with cold I could almost swallow it like oxygen porridge. I could almost hear the hyenas in the distance waiting for my warm body to freeze up so they could grab a late afternoon snack.

"Anyone wanna help me put up Christmas lights?"
I asked.

Yeah.
she said.
I'll come help.

And she did.
For the fourth year in a row.

Man, I almost like this human.

Also, this image is nowhere near any Christmas lights. It's near a beach. A beach that was cold, wet, and windy, and where we almost got dragged out to sea by force of the almost-gale force winds. Why this image then?

Because I said:

I'm going out for a stroll to see the seashore. Anyone wanna go?

I'll go.
she said.

And she did.

Man, I think I really do like this human.
More than almost.

____

thanks, Sasha Suzanne for the lovely hairstyling

___

Fly away.
Return home.
Love. Food. Community.
Fly away.
Return home. Repeat.
I try not to take those things for granted. The chance to settle and the chance to wander; the gift of flight and mobility and the gift of foundations and permanence; the social ecosystems to balance that can make life wonderful.

Happy holiday season, world. Be nice to people. And all living things and beings.