Winter warm...

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

An excerpt:

Sun sets early
Sky's a-swirly
Clouds collect--
Another storm?

Bundle blankets
Crackle, kindle
Cup of cocoa--
Winter warm.

~ from Frozen Noses,

written by Jan Carr

Brr... it's cold out there today, with a wind chill below zero. On days like this, I love to bundle up in my warmest winter clothes, snuggle under a fuzzy blanket, and sip hot cocoa while reading a good book. Winter warm, indeed. :)

Winter Morning Poem

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Winter Morning Poem

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue.
Snow is snowy when it's snowing,
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.

~ Ogden Nash

We finally got some real snow this month (as opposed to the dustings we had earlier in the winter).  Unfortunately, it is now at that slushy stage.  I'm hoping we'll get one more good snow, making the world look "good enough to bite", before spring....

Valentine Chocolates

Photo courtesy of Wallpaperfreeks

Valentine Chocolates

Ordinary candy,
Perhaps -- but
Boxed in a ruby
Heart, it grows
Exotic, mysterious;
Not to mention
The red cellophane
Wrapper, which
Looked through,
Shows a marvelous
Scarlet world.

~ Valerie Worth

I don't know about you, but I love those chocolate candies that come in heart shaped boxes. :)  My parents used to give small boxes of them to my sister and me every Valentine's Day, and I remember doing just what Worth talks about in her poem -- looking through the cellophane wrapper at a scarlet world.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

A strict rule...

Image courtesy of NYPL Digital Gallery

An excerpt:

     "I have a strict rule," said Clifford.  "I never send a valentine to anybody unless they send me one first."

     "You might have to wait a while," said Maureen.

     "I already have," said Clifford.

     "How long?" said Maureen.

     "Fifty-six years," said Clifford.

~ from A Village Full of Valentines,

written by James Stevenson

The passage above cracks me up! Do you send out valentines? I love to send them out to my friends and family... and I love to receive them, too. :)

Winter Solitude

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Winter Solitude

In a world of one color 

The Sound of wind. 

~ Basho 

I love how poetry, such as the haiku above, can say so much in so few words. When I read Basho's one sentence poem, I am instantly transported to a cold, quiet, lonely but beautiful place -- white landscape as far as the eye can see and a whistling wind the only sound.  Brr....

Wait for an echo...

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"I would hurl words 

into this darkness 

and wait for an echo,

 and if an echo sounded, 

no matter how faintly, 

I would send other words 

to tell, to march, to fight, 

to create a sense of hunger for life 

that gnaws in us all."  

~ Richard Wright

I really like this description of writing -- hurling words into the darkness and waiting for an echo....

Like silver butterflies...

Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures.net

They shine like silver butterflies 
Drifting in the sun, 
As though they fly on crystal wings 
That winter cold has spun. 
They catch and hold each soft sunbeam 
And then, without a sound, 
Turn into sparkling gossamer 
Before they touch the ground. 

~ Sandra Liatsos 

We have some "silver butterflies" drifting down here today.  I like the different images that Liatsos describes, especially "sparkling gossamer".

Millions of snowflakes...

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An excerpt:

     A beautiful snow flake fell through the air. Then two flakes floated softly to earth, followed by three, then four. The snow flakes fell faster and faster and faster. Millions of snow flakes fell from the sky.

     It snowed all that night and all the next day. Thick snow covered the branches of all the trees. A blanket of snow covered the meadows, the hills, the valleys. The snow was heavy on the roofs of the houses and barns.

     The snow stopped falling on the evening of the second day. Once again the big silvery moon rose high in the sky. The owls winged noiselessly from the sycamore to the pine woods. Nothing else stirred in the silent snow-covered land.

~ from The Big Snow,

written by Berta and Elmer Hader

I am happy today because we finally have some snow! We don't have as much as the Haders describe in The Big Snow, but more than we've seen here all winter. (Or last winter, for that matter.) I love when it covers the branches and blankets the land, especially when all is silent and still. What a magical sight!

The echoes of our hearts...

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"The best of a book 

is not the thought which it contains, 

but the thought which it suggests; 

just as the charm of music 

dwells not in the tones 

but in the echoes of our hearts."  

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

I love it when I keep thinking about a book long after I've finished reading it.  Just as with music, the feelings and thoughts that come from reading books dwell in the echoes of my heart....

To the Groundhog

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

To the Groundhog 

Will you 
Won't you 
See your shadow?

Will it 
Won't it 
Really matter?

Do you 
Don't you 
Grin to see

People 
Take you 
Seriously?

~ Author Unknown

This poem makes me smile -- hope it does the same for you!

Happy Groundhog Day! :)