The Lych Gate

. You are standing knee-deep in Birch Creek watching a beaver swim toward its lodge fifty yards upstream. It carries a load of fresh-cut twigs and branches in its mouth, and you can make out the sleek form of a second beaver adding its own cuttings to the structure. Suddenly the first beaver slaps its

Cold

Last night it was winter in my dreams again, bone-deep cold and cutting wind. I woke up afraid and shivering. My wife slept warm beside me, and I knew the big freeze would hold off for awhile.