A Winter Poem for a Friend

Have you any snow where you are?  I am sending some with this little poem.


A Tri-Colored Pallette
Softly; falling gently to touch down on the limb.
Quietly; not a sound; as I stand amongst the drifting
  flakes resting softly on my shoulders and hair.
Winterbirds; hear their calls sweetly sing
  to the symphony of snowdrops, falling,
  now drifting swiftly through chill air.

Each gray twig, now encased in white
Stand silhouetted 'gainst a canvas of gray
  sky; steely and looming as if holding back the tide.
Misty, winter-white fingers reach out, as a flight
  of bright blue jays streak through the trees
  to rest, to peck beneath the snow, to fruitlessly hide.

The blue of the jay calls out to my eye;
Snow is more brilliant now; branches alive
  with the indigo ornaments which bob and flit;
For a seed or a twig hidden below, they vie
  while snowdrops cover their tiny tracks
  once left in the white, mounted carpet.

More fervent now; winds furiously gust;
Hiding the distant gray backdrop
  of this masterpiece, so gloriously displayed;
The realization, a most wise choice, I trust;
  to step in where the shelter of window and wood
  brings warmth where once chill snowdrops laid.

Everyone's Chattering

I wish we could have tea on those "special days" like birthdays, for instance. When we're far apart we miss out on outings, crafty-meetings, birthdays and everyday chats! Remember when you used to get in the car with a friend and just go to flea markets? or farmer's markets to buy a HUGE burlap bag of cabbages? Remember when your closest friends would pull into the yard just to say "hi" and do some shooting? I miss those days.  We had South Carolina friends who would come to our house even when we weren't home; let themselves in, start a fire in the fireplace, take the dog (and cats) for a walk, go sliding, whatever...and wait for us to come home.

Let's warm up the teawater and sit at the table for a long chat. See the birds at the feeder, outside the window? They chatter back and forth and so do we! I could tell you, for instance, about my plight of having to go into work this afternoon, called in "at the last minute", and you could share the latest happenings of your son and his family in a far-off state. We watch the dogs out in the yard, tumbling and growling their "happy growls" with one another - while we sit at the table - and sip together!

Wonderful to be Chatting

It's so wonderful to be chatting with you.  I want to bring our newest little friend to your house so he can also meet Meg. I'll show you a picture...

...here's little Sturm, all wound up and ready to play!

I hope your desk pile gets shorter today.  My mail's all sorted and now there's just a large pile of bulk letters to put up on the boxes.  Yes, it's that time of year again.  The Christmas cards are pouring in, but among them are the appeals for money, money, money!

I'm almost ready to head home to see how the little guy did this morning. Of course, how much trouble can you get in when you're locked in a crate? We hope we don't have to use it for too long, but it is what he's used to and we just don't know whether he's a chewer..on things other than his toys! Ruger was left in charge of the house and the crate. I have no doubt that he's done his job well, as he's "tried and true". He LOVES this puppy.  They were each given a new rope toy last night. This morning Ruger took Sturm's and tossed it to him several times, then turned to his own new rope and got me to play tug-of-war with him while Sturm took it all in from the couch. I've no doubt that tomorrow we'll all be playing this game together. This little fellow watches everything quite closely and I think he's a fast learner.

Sorry this message was "for the dogs" but we're pretty excited about the little guy. I'll be back for a REAL CHAT soon. Get the tea kettle on!!

Magic in the Air

Its Monday again and the work on my desk has not gone away over the weekend. The piles are still here. I think the paper multiplies on purpose when I am not around (sigh). The other side of the coin is I have work to do and my day has some sense of order to it. Amazing isn't it that human beings crave order. Events and circumstances require cause and effect, they can't "just happen", even though sometimes it feels that they do. Part of this order is belonging. Belonging to something some group: a neighborhood, a church, a platoon, a company, a family. We are made to be connected, not disconnected. Christmas time really brings this point to the forefront. The message is put in our faces everywhere: at church, on TV and the radio, at the marketplace, even just driving down the road. Majestic music fills the air. Decorated lights cascade out into the night and for a brief while, the world is magical. Somehow, the wonder of the First Christmas continues to show up year after year in spite of efforts to diminish its message. We belong to God, we are His creation, we are the result of His desire for relationship. But the choice is ours. God will not force a relationship, but He will invite. Listen for the invitation... then respond.

Let's Take it to the Cushy Chairs

I have my big mug of tea. The steam follows me into the livingroom where we can sit and curl up in the oversized chairs for a chat! Last night's weather layed down a heavy white blanket over everything. The frosting clings fast to the tiniest branch and twig on the maples, birch and beech trees. I hope our squirrels have gathered up everything they wanted because this could be a long winter. 

So glad to hear that you are ahead of the squirrels at your place and that you have gatherd the pecans to a safe place where they'll dry and be ready soon to crack and use!   I have been pouring over a Williams-Sonoma catalog (I don't get one, but picked it up at work). This month's christmas edition has the most beautiful pictures of treats! I can see lots of things to put those pecans in.  On page two they show an electric pie maker...make 4 tiny pies in one baking - and only in 10 minutes!  comes with a mini-pie lifter! and even 'mini pie fililng' ha, ha!  These guys even make pate look good! (looks like fudge!)  I wish you had a copy of this so you could see the holiday dinnerware - WOW! red and white toile on page 90 and winter stag on page 96. Such beautifully set dinner tables. We must all have a dinner party! 

The sun has just popped out from behind huge gray cloud clusters. Everything's dripping. Ruger would like Meg to come so they could soak in the heat of the woodstove together. We would both have our feet on their tummies, giving them a rub while we warm our toes.  Well, my tea is almost gone - how about yours? I think it's time for a second cup!

Misty Rain and Fog

The leaves have pretty much gone from the trees and the temperatures have cooled way down.  Fallen leaves no longer rustle but instead cling to the ground in a blanket soggy from the misting rain and surrounding fog.  Except for an occasional spraying by a passing motor vehicle, the air is still.

We have an abundance of nuts this year and its a race with the squirrels to see who gets them first.  So far, we are ahead. 

Come, gather up your cups, fill them with the hot tea, coffee, or chocolate and sit by the fire with us.  Let us share our laughter this morning.

Snow Birds and Sun Birds

Out the window I see a bird clinging to the tiniest stem of a black-eyed susan.  I think it's a nuthatch;  yes, there's the nice, dark stripe through his eye.  He hangs upside down and picks at the last of the seed from susan's pupil.  The flower barely bends, and mostly by the breeze rather than by the weight of the little contortionist.  All of God's creatures are readying for winter.  Rodents are squirreling away sunflower seeds from the large heads that were saved from the garden.  Many of our favorite birds have already left for their home in the South.  Some of the residents in town are readying to follow them very soon.  We have several "snow birds"; a term that I could never really  understand.  Wouldn't it make more sense for US to be the "snow birds" and they the "sun birds"?  One of the great perplexities of life, I suppose.

I sip my cup of steaming tea and ponder why anyone would wish to leave a part of the country which will soon be dazzlingly white and sparkling.  Yes, the snow mounts up and must be regularly pushed aside to make a path for our feet, but it is my opinion that the splendor greatly outweighs the work.   Thankfully everyone does not think alike, else the world would be a very boring place, no?

Come winter I will still sit with my teacup at this very window; no doubt, watching the cardinals at the feeder.  Cardinals, now there is a creature who is individual in its species.  Our friends take pictures of them at their winter birdbath, away down South while we watch their cousins who have chosen to tough it out with us, here in the North.

I wish you were here to discuss these questions with me; but, alas, you're there in the South - I miss you, my Sun Bird.