Winter's End

Winter’s End

The sun streams warm upon my face
and spring birds tickle my ears.
My hat has wiggled itself from my head
and warm mittens have disappeared.

Puddles of cold water gather
where snowbanks were once piled high.
Mud clings to my shoes as I muddle on through
to play on the swings and slide.

Crocuses peek through the crusty, old snow;
a promising sign of spring.
Wispy clouds in the sky are flying quite high
no surprises this day, they’ll bring.

Though winter is fun with its sledding and skating;
It’s sure a delight to find spring patiently waiting!

Choosing

Limerick style ... just a little fun poem for the L-O-N-G month of February!



I like summer better than winter
with AC instead of a heater;
when my brain doesn't freeze
and my cold nose can breathe
with my nostrils not sticking together!

Winter Vacation

Frosty faces;frozen laces
children skating on the pond;
sleds competing; saucers spinning
wildly down the hill and beyond.

Snow flakes falling; north wind blowing
winter down each un-scarved neck.
Friendly shoves with snow caked gloves, now
homeward they begin their trek.

Smiles beaming; cocoa steaming;
soothing to their snow stung smiles.
Shower warming; outside storming;
more snow gathering for awhile.

Now they sleep; dreaming deep of
kings and castles, mountains; then
awaken, hasten, breakfast chasing
to capture winter once again.

The week after this one coming, many children and educators will have a week off from school. It was meant for a "recuperation" time so that all the little sniffles, sneezes, coughs and wheezes would go away; all the stomach viruses would, too, hopefully.

I have many friends and acquaintances in the education field who feel the best place to recuperate is any place there is no snow or temps below 50 degrees! Y'all have fun down south, but I'm waiting and hoping for at least one BIG snow storm before spring begins to peak through the clouds. March will be here before you know it and THEN you will find me hastening spring's return by heading south.

Will you be going anywhere special? Praying safe journeys for all my traveling friends :-)

Pricker Bushes

I mentioned pricker bushes a few posts back and said it was for a another story. Well, thanks to my friend Anne, I came across the picture to go with the story. LOL!!! There isn't much of a story and I don't have a poem to go with it but... Once upon a time there was a hill behind Anne's house and a bunch of kids from church who wanted a "winter weekend." So we complied. One of the featured activities was sledding on Morgan's Hill. It was an interesting hill, with bumps and a few little turns and a rocky drop off at the bottom that we never actually reached, but a nice long ride nonetheless. Well, after a few trips down which made the track nice and fast, it was my turn again, and for no good reason, other than it was going to be her turn next, Anne screams, "Peg! Look out!!" Since there was no danger in front of me, there had to be danger coming up behind me so I did the most sensible thing. I bailed from the sled as soon as I could, giving absolutley no thought to where I would land. Anne just happened to have her camera on hand and when she arrived, safely by sled .. she took my picture. She was laughing so hard, I can't believe this picture didn't blur; but it didn't so you can all see what I looked like climbing out of the pricker bushes :-) End of story! Well, not really; I got even with Anne when she was wearing her bunny slippers LOL!!!! but that's another story...

Making Do

Cloudless sky,
deep azure
Seamless ice,
hard frozen
Hatless child,
log sitting
Lace-less skate,
loose fitting
Smile-less owner,
quick thinking
Hopeless scarf,
unraveling
Useless threads,
skate lacing
Scarf-less boy,
fast skating!


A different style of poetry ... I never know how the words are going to form.

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Mr. Groundhog

Oh, what will he do
on the 2nd day
of the month with the fewest days?

Will he scurry right out
and give a big shout
to frighten his shaddow away?

Will he peek o'er the edge
of his hole in the ground
and look to see if it's clear?

Will he blink and look tired
or be bouncing and wired
and start running as fast as a deer? (I doubt it.)

Well, today is no problem
as the skies have snow in them
so pop up and party away

From morning til noon
but remember this June,
from my garden stay far away!

Mittens or Gloves?

Mittens or gloves is the question

the answer to which I am certain

lies on the inside

where fingers and thumbs cry

for comfort, warmth and protection!

Working in the school district full time for over 20 years has allowed me the opportunity to view first hand how parents dress their children. Now, why would parents send their kids to school in the wintertime, knowing there was outside play at recess, with no snowpants, no boots, no hat (or hood on their jacket)and only stretchy gloves, if any, for hand protection? Poor kids used to have to borrow mittens/gloves and hats from the teacher or nurse's office and then stand where it was plowed and just watch the other kids play. What great memories those kids have ... NOT! The rest of the kids would be building snowmen, playing King of the Hill on the snowbanks and making forts. They weren't allowed to throw snowballs at each other but we managed to find a way to play snowbaseball and got away with it and it was my idea! Don't tell the principal.

My memory helped me understand the importance of good winter clothing and I definitely remember back in highschool wishing I had my mittens instead of my gloves; my wool socks instead of my nylon/cotton blended ones; my hat with little ear protectors built in and my real boots as opposed to my sneakers which were way cooler but definitely not practical .. and my mom did not know I left the house in them, heh, heh, heh! Oh, wait .. the jokes on me :-(

My own daughter in love came to play the other day with our 3 year old granddaughter, Belle, who had on snowpants, a warm hat that fastened over her chin, boots and mittens. Her mommy had a jacket, athletic shoes, no hat and nothing for her hands!! Then she complained about winter time. Helloooooo!!!!! Since I was working, she borrowed my snow boots and mittens and had a great time outdoors with Dad and her daughter, sledding and snowshoeing. Another daughter-in-love dresses very similarly for winter but doesn't complain. She also doesn't play in the snow as she and our son have no children, yet...

A couple of days later, we had our other granddaughter, also dressed for winter, over to play in the snow and had equally as great a time and I didn't miss a thing because it was Sunday after church! The sky was just beautiful and I hope my pics turned out on this page the way they are supposed to. Her mommy, our third daughter-in-love couldn't come but if she could she would be dressed for it as she has snowpants, boots, hats, mittens and now some of our snow shoes so they can trek around and take pictures. I think I'm going to invest in some winter gear for the other girls :-) The family that snowshoes together, drinks hot chocolate together and that sounds mighty fine right about now!

Meanwhile, back to my rant ... parents, dress your kids and yourselves for the weather. It's Feburary! My final words go back to my poem: Mittens are always warmer than gloves since your fingers get to hang out together and share

body heat. I even slip my thumbs out of their little home to be curled up inside my hand and sometimes I even drive the car that way! Just sayin' .. .around our house, mittens makes the difference between happy hands or miserable grandmommy!

End of rant.

Snow Day!

When roads are slick

and sidewalks thick

with ice on a weekday morn;






When radios say,

"No school today!"

when suddenly sleep is done;

When breakfast is eaten

and a shoveled path's beaten

to the shed to fetch the sled;

Then hills in all places

announce winter races

where everyone wins in

The End!

It never fails to amaze me the amount of energy a child (and some adults) have when they realize there is no school due to snow and/or ice! Neighbors of mine would be up at the crack of dawn, which in the winter around here comes close to 7 AM, and would be putting their skiis on top of their station wagon and be ready to go as soon as the last child gulped down their breakfast! Sometimes the car would be ready the night before in anticipation of a "snow day."

I really don't have room to talk, though ... snow days off from school would have me into my snowpants at almost the same time so I could take advantage of the new fallen snow on our community hill before the other kids got there! I liked making the "track" for the saucer and made sure it didn't go into the pricker bushes. Pricker bushes remind of another time but that's another story .....

Things haven't changed much and though I don't regularly go sledding, there is still something pretty magical about waking up to a winter wonderland and hearing Tom and Steve on the radio announce that the schools are closed! I work for the school districts and though I may not get paid for snow days, I get to breathe the cold, crisp, clean air as I help shovel and the anticipation of playing with my grandchidren in the snow is worth a whole lot more than a pay check!

Winter Life

Under boughs of evergreen
beneath cold dirt you'll find
little rooms in tidy nests
for critters of every kind.

Grey mice and squirrels; chipmunks, too,
seek shelter from winter's air
They burrow a furrow and line the end
with some of their soft, warm fur.

They venture out on warmish days
and skitter across the snow
to search for food and stretch their limbs...
then it's back to the evergreen boughs.

Winter Statue

Winter Statue

Eye lashes gathering

Cold nose breathing

Red cheeks feeling

Pink tongue catching

Swirling flakes of winter

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! We had a great New Year's Eve at the Glen Glade Country Store with old and new friends; sharing food and playing games. Managed to get home in time to watch the crystal ball drop in NYC to announce the end of the old and the beginning of the new. We updated our facebook statuses, kissed and went to bed. Woke up in the morning to the same dishes and what not ... boring by some people's standards but not to us :-)



Well, I told some people I was going to do it ... so here goes: Poetry time! (short and sweet)



Playing In Winter

Snowsuit stuffing
Huffing, puffing;
Boots too big for little feet

Mittened fingers;
Fuzz balls linger
at the tips where fingers meet

Scarf wrapped 'round;
Hat pulled down;
Two eyes, one nose now showing

All ready for
the opened door
to meet cold wind now blowing!

Snow Flurries!

It's been snowing all day but there's nothing to show for it. Lots of flurries, some of the flakes quite huge, have been cascading past my windows but appear to be blowing into the next county! I love the snow but hate the cold. Isn't that quite a combination? It's pretty hard to have one without the other, but all I ask is that God hold back the frigid temps and the wind! Please!

I still have to finish my outdoor decorations (just a bit) and our front yard will look very festive. I'll post a picture when it's ready.

Right now, I'm battling my first cold of the season (Zicam works great) and feel pretty good... good thing, too... I'm about to go help with the children at Bible Club. I take them into the gym to play dodge ball, tag ..etc. You know, quiet games :-) I'm sure I'll lose my voice but get it back in time for substitute teaching tomorrow!

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January 2010

Is anyone else having trouble typing 2010? I keep getting my fingers mixed up and have attempted several times to join the year 2100. I don't think I'll be around then. If I am, NO ONE is allowed to take any pictures of me!



New Year's Day came in like a lamb. It was above freezing and everyone was healthy. A few days later we were sick, but not too .. just enough to give us some immunity, we hope :-) We also hope March comes in like a lamb, too. I don't like winter as much as I used to....



All is quiet .. we like it this way! The grandchildren are growing and happy. The children are working hard and enjoying their families and cats and dogs and guitars and drums. I've heard from nieces and nephews and saw pictures of a grand niece and a grand nephew .. such doll babies!! I know why we live so far away from each other. I would probably smother the babies with kisses and we ALL KNOW how much THAT is appreciated!!



I did have one niece comment on my last post :-) She posted as annonymous and I'm DYING to find out if she blogs! She is intelligent, creative, thoughtful and too far away from me. We grew up together more like sisters and seldom fought. BJ ... come back online!!!



I've been "messing" with Google/Picasa/Blogger and who knows where my pictures and trips and posts will show up! I try to keep some things private but want people to be able to find me ... hmmm .. that's tricky. Do me a favor, and let me know if my blog appears too public for my own good.



No real big personal plans for January or February. We are both working part-time and enjoying it. Bill is involved in a grassroots attempt to re-introduce a Sportsmen's Day through Sacandaga Bible Conference and this is taking up lots of his waking moments. It should be a great day and if it works, I'll link my blog to it. Lots of different vendors and a great guest speaker. Men and women are invited and I hope to be there helping with registration or something.



Hoping to take a sun and warmth seeking vacation to VA in March, much as last year .. we have family down there we don't get to see very often. There are pics on here of last year's trip so I won't do that again :-) unless they are REALLY, REALLY good!



January thaw has come ... it was 43 degrees at noon but has come down a bit .. to 39. This is what we needed to help clear out some of the icky, icy areas in our driveway to a degree ... at least now, if it snows, we won't have a speed bump of ice to contend with as well.



Well, this has been more of a blahg than a blog, but creativity is out the window today ... some days are like that. I really should put a poem or two on here ... I wrote them last year and wanted to get them copyrighted first, but that hasn't happened. Too lazy, I guess :-) Several of them could actually make great children's books and it was suggested that I look into that. I may ... still enjoying my first year of retirement (aka doing nothing) to get too involved in something as time consuming as that! Time will tell.