Ten Unmediated Pleasures

1. a wet shave, a process like archaeology, and the bay rum's slap and tickle in the aftermath
   


2. turning a corner to surprise a pheasant as it crosses the road
   


3. duelling with two-foot-long icicles
   


4. a sky black with crows
   


5. standing at the range, whisking hot cocoa to foam over open flame
   


6. beads—a sandalwood rosary—smooth against my fingertips.
   


7. a hot shower on a cold morning
   


8. four milk-teeth, a crooked staircase in the baby's grin
   


9. trees blurring past the toboggan in squeals of vertigo and delight
   


10. woodsmoke and its promises