February Coldth

Battered weather syndrome

Affects us Montanans this year.

Get hit by minus twenty

and minus twenty six,

followed by a honeymoon period

in the fifties. All sunshine and light.

We revive with new hope

only to be hit once more

by sub-zeroes, wind and snow.

Deja vu all over again

February Warmth

daily haiku

sixty four degrees

have I died and reached heaven

or is it february

Today it reached 64° - a wonderful feeling - I think I may survive the winter! Walking around outdoors on the south side of the house, the sun, in the past few days, revived a few plants such as the little Grape Hyacinths above and a few miniature iris are showing green leaves close to the ground. The hills are almost bare and the driveway turned to mud. Hanging Woman Creek is flowing swiftly and carrying sheets of thin ice down to the beaver dam where they get hung up until liquefying.

As I stood on the bridge I heard a schluffff sound; the sound of ice melting on the bank and falling into the stream. Soon that sound will indicate that carp are back. I hope, like last year, I have the wonder of seeing them mate again. All golden and turning circles for the lady carp.

I wonder if someone will turn gold and spin for me this spring :) One can always hope.

Last Year's Mint

daily haiku

odor of comfort

the smell of mint from my tea

memories of you

Gardening in this arid area is difficult to begin with, but when your well gives you methane water full of salts, that complicates the issue. Over the years I have planted many beautiful annuals and perrenials and lost them to climate or water, and now work with the survivors - daylilies, russian sage, meadow sage and mint.

Today's photo shows dead mint against yesterday's snow. If you crush the leaves between your fingers, the sweet aroma is still there. And so it is with our memories. Death takes the living but the sweetness remains.

A Touch Of Spring

daily haiku

busy tree creeper

works the buffalo bush

while waiting for you

The haiku is written for my good friend Art Elser who is currently in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. Thank God he is progressing well.

Yesterday and today were warm and the house oozed out the latent cold and is now comfortable again. Snow melted and I was able to walk out on the deck with a cup of tea - something I love to do, and have been denied for months of cold and snow. There are still piles of snow especially on the north side of the house, but in other places you can see the ground again. Sure feels good. While I was standing out there a cheeky little bird flew past my head so close that I could feel the air move. Maybe it was thanking me for filling the bird feeder the other day!

Nasty weather

For the last three days we are in the grip of an arctic blast. It was -26' here this morning and is around 3' right now. The best part is the sun is shining and filling the porch with free btu's.

Tonight will be almost as cold, but tomorrow it is supposed to improve. This winter has been a difficult one for me; coping without Peter's good brain, without his company, without the warmth of his hugs and without the warmth of him in the bed near to me has been a cold and frigid experience for my brain too. Roll on spring, I can't wait to get outside again, drive anywhere I want to, when I want to, and stop listening to the chug of the furnace. Speaking of which - has anyone out there noticed that the oil companies report record profits whenever the price of gas goes up due to a supposed short supply? As Shakespeare put it -

"There is something rotten in the State of Denmark"

frigidity

four below at four o’clock
february on the cusp of january
ice crystals hang in still air
snow over ice
bubble-wraps the landscape
cat scratches the furniture
in boredom
deer moved back to brush
along the river bank
juncos desert the feeder
sun descends in silver rays
the house cracks in contraction
I put on bing crosby
who’s crooning with jack
teagarden and eddie condon
with a touch of Satchmo
dance around the living room
to put movement in my static day
cabin fever, anyone?