Quiet Day

Quiet, but certainly not silent. There has been the constant tapping of little ice pellets falling all day. The sound varied slightly depending on what it landed on; the hiss on the grass was different from the pitter patter on the bare branches or the more muted hush of it piling up on the spruce boughs. At one point I thought I heard a bell ringing far away, and it turned out to be ice pellets striking the tripod I was carrying. This was no day to venture out on the roads, and it was fine to cozy up and spend it at home. In other words a good day for - you guessed it - hot chocolate.