packing up camp

She didn't often become attached to places, but this little gulley had wormed its way into her heart. Siobhan had set up a temporary home here - well, a base camp of sorts - through the end of the summer and fall. Now that the winter mornings were bitterly cold and her breath clouded in her face, she was ready to move on. She had amassed quite a supply of pigments and paints she'd stowed in the halved skins of fruits and hidden in small divots in the ground outside of her makeshift den that she covered with leaves to keep safe. It was time to say goodbye to all she'd built and head south for warmer weather. The last of her large canvases was spread before her, a tanned doe hide. The rest were smaller portions of stiff bark, tanned beaver hides, or the smallest of all - an itty bitty squirrel hide canvas.

Sio figured she would savor this last warm winter day. Already she could feel the afternoon begin to chill as it headed towards evening. A cloud passed across the sun, dimming the beautiful natural light that often seemed to make the greenery in the gulley glow from within. Everything was stiff and brown and trodden-down by other migrating animals now. It had been so beautiful here just a month ago. Taking a deep breath, Siobhan dipped a deft little paw into a verdant green pigment and began to sketch the gully how she loved it best: in full bloom at the height of summer.