Outside is a sea of snow, thick and heavy. I shovel my driveway. It’s cold, but not painfully so. My LA friends think I’m crazy. CA to NY. Eleven years. They’ve seen photos but they can’t hear my brook, how she sings for me every night and day. A chickadee flits into my view. Worried by the empty bird feeder, sing-song notes fly from its tiny white throat. “Give me five minutes,” I laugh. Winters here are as deep as LA summers. Endless. Emptiness. I push my shovel further into snow. Lift and toss. Stronger with every inch I clear.
Vicki Whicker is a writer and photographer. After a lifetime in Los Angeles she’s living in central NY. Her Instagram, @Dunga_Brook, tells the stories. You can also find Vicki on Twitter @vicki_whicker.