Winter, settling in

We’ve been snow showered on, again. I expect the snow on the ground to be gone by week’s end, at which time folks should begin fretting about whether or not we’ll have a white Christmas. I just hope it won’t get to be too white.

view of today’s neighborhood

Photo by J. Harrington

The house is now all sparkly and lighted both outside and in. Next weekend will probably be tree time. Meanwhile, the Jeep’s carpet floor mats need to come out and be replaced by rubber ones. I’m sharing that here as a reminder to me since I’ve not yet made the change. The transition from autumn to winter feels more like work than the one from winter to spring, but I believe there’s actually more work involved in the latter.

Minor progress has been made on Christmas lists and shopping. We still have several weeks before it becomes time to get panicky, but first we need to be sure to not succumb tomorrow to the wiles of Cyber Monday. We’ll see about getting a new bag of bird seed at the local feed and grain instead. Then we can share with our feathered friends through the rest of the holiday season. At the moment, we’re seeing chickadees, nuthatches, goldfinches, hairy, downy, and an occasional red-bellied woodpecker and, at dusk some days, a cardinal or two. Still no signs of juncos.

That’s about it for today. We’re in a post-Thanksgiving lull ahead of the pre-Christmas frenzy, and I intend to take advantage of every moment of it.

November for Beginners

By Rita Dove

Snow would be the easy

way out—that softening

sky like a sigh of relief

at finally being allowed

to yield. No dice.

We stack twigs for burning

in glistening patches

but the rain won’t give.

So we wait, breeding

mood, making music

of decline. We sit down

in the smell of the past

and rise in a light

that is already leaving.

We ache in secret,

memorizing

a gloomy line

or two of German.

When spring comes

we promise to act

the fool. Pour,

rain! Sail, wind,

with your cargo of zithers!

November 1981

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