A Dusting of Snow

white sky 
monochrome landscape

but at least

University Farm
hoophouses offer

colorful relief

another kind
of nourishment

BAC's Request

She asked me 
to open the door.
I knew better.
It's cold
and windy
with wet snow.
She doesn't know snow.
Doesn't go out
doesn't even try,
content with inside
and inside things.
Like her sister
whom she sometimes
torments, sometimes
licks and cuddles.
Like cold water
swirled in a metal bowl
wide enough
to accommodate
her generous whiskers.
Like the Taj Mahal
of a litter box
big enough for her
to recline
or insist upon
entering where
her sister
the littler one
already pees.
But sometimes
she asks and
today I offered
I opened the door
to snow
and cold
and wind
and dampness.
And for a long time
she cowered;
behind the trash bin
she peeked outside
and finally took
one step, looked long,
sniffed the base plate,
then scampered
to the living room,
lay under brass lamps,
groomed and slept.
BigAssCat's over it,
the snow
and the whole
wide world
beyond her womb-house. 

Winter Brings a Slight Change of Perspective

I detest light pollution.

Even my small community of Sewanee has light pollution, especially on my street: two bright hideously orangish streetlights; neighboring outdoor strings of bright-white large-bulb party lights; and one safety spotlight aimed directly at my living room windows.

There's a reason why I spend so much time at the back of the house.

Except (and there's often an exception): when snow blows in and collects itself into lovely little dunes and confettis the air, the streetlight closest to me throws dark blue shadows under the trees and then, only then, I linger in my living room.

A Lesson in Grammar in a Few Short Hours (Sewanee Style)

COORDINATING
the day was beautiful, for the weather was weird
snow and fog
or fog and sun
but not fog and sun
snow yet fog
fog yet sunsun so no fog

CORRELATIVE

either blue sky or gray sky
neither day nor night

not only fog, but also sun

not only gray sky, but also blue sky
both fog and sun
not frigid but cold
whether sunny or foggy or snowy, today was beautiful

All's Well

wet flakes
plop & plash
filling the woods,
winter-shallow,
bells ring 5:00;
all's well yet
I think on
the yellow stray,
long-time resident
of Kentucky Avenue,
& hope she
worms herself
into a warm spot.

Snow Day

Not a bad day to stay in and enjoy the view.

A Plea to the One in Charge

Dear Madam or Sir:

For an all-too-brief moment today, I thought Sewanee might enjoy an accumulation of snow. The wind blustered the butterfly sculpture in front of Locals, whirling and swirling it, and flakes hurled themselves down University Avenue with the kind of enthusiastic abandon I've seen in The Nutcracker.

But then it stopped. And the sun came out. And we are left with cold. Bitter dregs of a winter wonderland that I am still awaiting.

Please. Can't you do something?

With great hope, I am, respectfully yours,
A Fan.

Outside/Inside

I
Outside this happened. Not once. Several times. With sun in between.

On Facebook, I asked, "If the devil is beating his wife when the sun shines during rain, what's he doing when the sun shines during a snowstorm?"

A former student, far more clever and quick-witted than I today, replied, "Maybe she's giving him the cold shoulder?"

II
No cold shoulders inside.

Fraidy Kittens: Day 5

Bounce Back

I

5:40AM

The sound that every human who lives with cat dreads: the loud ME-OOOWWWW followed by the unmistakable retching that means . . . well, . . . you know what it means.

By 7:30, Clio had repeated this action 12 times, so down we went to the Midtown Veterinary Services and Hospital. This on a day when ice and snow were predicted. (More about that to come.)

The new young vet (my vet was off today, though I saw her briefly there anyway) saw both kittens, just in case, and had good news: Clio purred happily even when he kneaded her belly. No blockage. But to be safe, she received an anti-nausea shot, an antibiotic shot, and a general checkup. He suggested a teaspoon of pumpkin for constipation (both cats loved it; who knew?) and twice daily antibiotics, orally. 

II

2:39PM 

Vigorous play with a flingy toy proves that a little TLC goes a long way.

And, not long after, the snow arrived, just in time for another nap.

By Way of Explanation

Dear Jane,

I regret to inform you that I have decided not to venture on a daily walk. At this moment, the temperature is 16, the light failing, and the wet snow still falling. These are not happy events for my camera.

That said, I don't wish to disappoint, so here are three snaps taken from inside my house. 

May you enjoy them!

Your friend,
Robley

Snow Day

How Is It that the Snow
by Robert Haight

How is it that the snow
amplifies the silence,
slathers the black bark on limbs,
heaps along the brush rows?

Some deer have stood on their hind legs
to pull the berries down.
Now they are ghosts along the path,
snow flecked with red wine stains.

This silence in the timbers.
A woodpecker on one of the trees
traps out its story,
stopping now and then in the lapse
of one white moment into another.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Snowshower leftovers shine more brightly than the event itself, like memories of happy moments or accomplishments hard earned.

Only these shiners are free for the looking.

Abbo's Alley has rarely looked better in winter.

I Love You, Jack Frost!

That's what one of the Greats apparently said today of the snow falling at her home.

Here's a little secret: I do, too.

If only he had stayed longer.

The Cardinal

Tennesseans from west to east had snow Sunday, some more than others. My friends Florence and Jere had about four inches some 30+ miles north, while I had about two.

When I woke, I wasn't surprised by the snow, but I was by the fog accompanying it and the impossibility of photographing it.


My friends Florence and Jere sent me a photograph later in the day far more beautiful, largely because they feed legions of birds just outside their kitchen window.Living in their garden all winter are at least five pairs of cardinals. Once, I saw dozens of pairs in their trees and grass, on feeders and stones, perching like satin bows.


If I were a bird, I'd be a cardinal, bringing much warmth and heart to a cold and bitter day.

Winter Wears White

Abbo's Alley the day after a small snow wears its winter whites.

Snow Diamonds

The child in me emerges every now and then as it did this morning. Turning from steeping tea, I saw the rising sun catch the snow on my deck. Snow grains sparkled like stars on a white field. I remember a huge childhood snow when my across-the-street neighbor and friend Camille and I sledded down the Hendons' front yard all day long and another in New Orleans, weeks after my mother's death, when my friend Nancy's mother woke us on New Year's with snowballs in our faces and when we went to the Sugar Bowl in the Tulane stadium and sat with our feet on small humps of snow.I have no sled now and no desire to play in or pile snow into forts or mannequins, but when the sun catches snow while night's shadows linger, I feel the same thrill of snow.