The morning of December 3, 2000, dawns on a winter wonderland here in the Northeast corner of Tennessee. Wet snow is falling, trees are beginning to bow under the weight as laden power lines swing to and fro. Nobody has come to life at my house as yet. The caw of a black crow disturbs the stillness as he suddenly emerges from his night accommodations and ascends the top of a tall, snow covered poplar. "Caw, caw, caw,". He quickly moves on protesting the inconvenience of his search for morning food. From the kitchen table, through the sliding glass door, I calculate a three inch accumulation on the deck railing now. Nothing like Buffalo, New York.

Hark, the shuffle of black corduroy slippers in the hallway....another animal in search of his morning repast and I haven't even started the coffee yet.