Snow: years of anger following hours that float idly down — the blizzard drifts its weight deeper and deeper for three days or sixty years, eh? Then the sun! a clutter of yellow and blue flakes — Hairy looking trees stand out in long alleys over a wild solitude. The man turns and there — his solitary track stretched out upon the world.
The cold earth slept below; ____ Above the cold sky shone; ______ And all around, ______ With a chilling sound, From caves of ice and fields of snow The breath of night like death did flow ______ Beneath the sinking moon.
The wintry hedge was black; ____ The green grass was not seen; ______ The birds did rest ______ On the bare thorn’s breast, Whose roots, beside the pathway track, Had bound their folds o’er many a crack ______ Which the frost had made between.
Thine eyes glow’d in the glare ____ Of the moon’s dying light; ______ As a fen-fire’s beam ______ On a sluggish stream Gleams dimly—so the moon shone there, And it yellow’d the strings of thy tangled hair, ______ That shook in the wind of night.
The moon made thy lips pale, beloved; ____ The wind made thy bosom chill; ______ The night did shed ______ On thy dear head Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie Where the bitter breath of the naked sky ______ Might visit thee at will.
I leant upon a coppice gate ___ When Frost was spectre-grey, And Winter's dregs made desolate ___ The weakening eye of day. The tangled bine-stems scored the sky ___ Like strings of broken lyres, And all mankind that haunted nigh ___ Had sought their household fires.
The land's sharp features seemed to be ___ The Century's corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy, ___ The wind his death-lament. The ancient pulse of germ and birth ___ Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth ___ Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among ___ The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong ___ Of joy illimited; An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, ___ In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul ___ Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings ___ Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things ___ Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through ___ His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew ___ And I was unaware.
Hi, Jon. I just hate to use "LOL" or any of those stock net abbreviations, so I made up an "emoticon" of my unknown to indicate merriment or good humor.
Most use :-) to indicate a smiley face.
I think §;-D= looks like a clownish person laughing his or her head off. Tilt your head to the left and see if you don't agree.
For future reference here is my customized DEMONICON
Just got back from moving igloo pieces blocking the walkway entrance on this house. Gotta get the home-care veterinarian in here to see our beloved Cameo. She's been sick for 48 hours now. I hope that he can save her! He is definitely planning to come here today; I got the confirmation call this morning.
Well, Mysti somewhat loves him. She's very shy and ever paranoid.
Amber isn't sure what she thinks of a veterinarian.
Cameo, typical of her breed, has zero fear of the vet. Indeed, she has zero fear of anyone! She's a Rottweiler of a cat.
I can see that Cameo is feeling a bit better. She sleeps with me, sits next to me, and doesn't look as worried as she was. But she won't eat her food, and lack of appetite is a bad sign for a cat with a history of bladder stones. I hope that the vet will give her an appetite stimulant; he did that once before when she had the $600 hairball from hell. That shot worked wonders!
My biggest fear for her right now, of course, is a cancer of the bowel.
It looks like that wine has a really nice chill on it. Here in Florida we wrap a bottle of whatever in wet paper towels and set it in the freezer. In 15 minutes, you have an icy cold beverage.
I'm sorry about your kitties. Hope it all works out for the best for you all.
The vet has been here. He injected her with sub-cu H2O. He may have to prescribe an appetite stimulant if her appetite doesn't come back in 24 hours. She must eat her special diet to prevent potentially-fatal bladder stones, and she won't eat it -- although she will eat other food.
An appetite stimulant can make a cat aggressive. Imagine Cameo as more aggressive! YE, GODS!
The good news is that Cameo doesn't appear to have an intestinal blockage, which has been our biggest worry.
Baysider, Cameo isn't out of the woods yet. She must resume eating her special food. Bit both the vet and I are hopeful that we can get her to go in that direction!
Cameo is 1/4 Bluepoint Siamese and 3/4 Russian Blue. Yes, she is a plushy beauty. She was the runt of the litter, but always rooted aggressively for the teat. LOL.
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_____ Blizzard _____
ReplyDeleteSnow:
years of anger following
hours that float idly down —
the blizzard
drifts its weight
deeper and deeper for three days
or sixty years, eh? Then
the sun! a clutter of
yellow and blue flakes —
Hairy looking trees stand out
in long alleys
over a wild solitude.
The man turns and there —
his solitary track stretched out
upon the world.
~ William Carlos Williams
I sure don't miss the snow. 85 here! This should be the last of it for you.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily, BV. remember T.S. Eliot told us "April is the cruelest month breeding lilacs out of the dead land ..."
DeleteIn New Jersey I've known it to snow quite heavily in early April.
FT,
DeleteOnce Palm Sunday 2015 comes and goes, we should be safe from more of winter's blasts.
We have a tradition here of "the Palm Sunday ice storm."
__ The cold earth slept below __
ReplyDeleteThe cold earth slept below;
____ Above the cold sky shone;
______ And all around,
______ With a chilling sound,
From caves of ice and fields of snow
The breath of night like death did flow
______ Beneath the sinking moon.
The wintry hedge was black;
____ The green grass was not seen;
______ The birds did rest
______ On the bare thorn’s breast,
Whose roots, beside the pathway track,
Had bound their folds o’er many a crack
______ Which the frost had made between.
Thine eyes glow’d in the glare
____ Of the moon’s dying light;
______ As a fen-fire’s beam
______ On a sluggish stream
Gleams dimly—so the moon shone there,
And it yellow’d the strings of thy tangled hair,
______ That shook in the wind of night.
The moon made thy lips pale, beloved;
____ The wind made thy bosom chill;
______ The night did shed
______ On thy dear head
Its frozen dew, and thou didst lie
Where the bitter breath of the naked sky
______ Might visit thee at will.
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
When I shovel the snow now, I see green verdancy there!
Delete______ SNOW HAIKU _____
ReplyDeleteFor Winter Weary New Englanders
Bare branches stick out
From snow mountains twelve feet tall
Longing for the spring.
Snow suffocation
Must be difficult to bear
Bushes too must breathe.
We Human beings
Sit, drink tea, sip Scotch, hook rugs
Or read by the fire.
Work jigsaw puzzles,
Darn socks, plan meals or daydream
In cozy comfort.
While patiently
Waiting for deliverance
From this winter’s worst.
~ FreeThinke
____ The Darkling Thrush ___
ReplyDeleteI leant upon a coppice gate
___ When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
___ The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
___ Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
___ Had sought their household fires.
The land's sharp features seemed to be
___ The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
___ The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
___ Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
___ Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
___ The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
___ Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
___ In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
___ Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
___ Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
___ Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
___ His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
___ And I was unaware.
~ Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
I guess that this is what we get for not paying a climate tax!
ReplyDelete§;-D=
Delete§;-D= ??????? Sorry but I'm not with it.
DeleteHi, Jon. I just hate to use "LOL" or any of those stock net abbreviations, so I made up an "emoticon" of my unknown to indicate merriment or good humor.
DeleteMost use :-) to indicate a smiley face.
I think §;-D= looks like a clownish person laughing his or her head off. Tilt your head to the left and see if you don't agree.
For future reference here is my customized DEMONICON
};-)>
which sometimes appears this way
]:-{>
Just got back from moving igloo pieces blocking the walkway entrance on this house. Gotta get the home-care veterinarian in here to see our beloved Cameo. She's been sick for 48 hours now. I hope that he can save her! He is definitely planning to come here today; I got the confirmation call this morning.
ReplyDeleteMay your cats get well
DeleteSoon after the vet arrives.
Love helps healing too.
I am praying he
Can get to you just as planned
And work his magic.
Dr. V. is an animal talker. Our kitties love him.
DeleteWell, Mysti somewhat loves him. She's very shy and ever paranoid.
Amber isn't sure what she thinks of a veterinarian.
Cameo, typical of her breed, has zero fear of the vet. Indeed, she has zero fear of anyone! She's a Rottweiler of a cat.
I can see that Cameo is feeling a bit better. She sleeps with me, sits next to me, and doesn't look as worried as she was. But she won't eat her food, and lack of appetite is a bad sign for a cat with a history of bladder stones. I hope that the vet will give her an appetite stimulant; he did that once before when she had the $600 hairball from hell. That shot worked wonders!
My biggest fear for her right now, of course, is a cancer of the bowel.
Hasty Winter Haiku
ReplyDeleteA Champagne bottle
Placed in anticipation
Of a heavy snow
Stands erect, and waits
To see itself get buried
In a crystal shroud.
Can bubbly wine freeze
Or lose its sparkling luster
Buried in the snow?
If not, when it starts
To melt, the wine should be chilled,
Ready to imbibe.
Could a better time
To stage a celebration
Come than when snow thaws?
~ FreeThinke (3/6/15)
So, FT, the graphic inspired you?
DeleteFrom what I understand, this photo was actually taken about 20 miles west of here.
Sorry to send it your way, AOW.
ReplyDeleteWe haven;t seen any significant snow for week now but southern Mass. got
another foot from this one.
Jet stream has changed and we are finally in a warming trend.
Lizzie Strata said
DeleteToo bad! You got close to breaking an all-time record.
Missed it by a little over an inch but that record was for a full winter.
DeleteWe got this in a month.
I think those photos are VERY clever.
ReplyDeleteTOO warm here. I hate it
I think those photos are VERY clever.
ReplyDeleteTOO warm here. I hate it
It looks like that wine has a really nice chill on it. Here in Florida we wrap a bottle of whatever in wet paper towels and set it in the freezer. In 15 minutes, you have an icy cold beverage.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about your kitties. Hope it all works out for the best for you all.
UPDATE ON CAMEO:
ReplyDeleteThe vet has been here. He injected her with sub-cu H2O. He may have to prescribe an appetite stimulant if her appetite doesn't come back in 24 hours. She must eat her special diet to prevent potentially-fatal bladder stones, and she won't eat it -- although she will eat other food.
An appetite stimulant can make a cat aggressive. Imagine Cameo as more aggressive! YE, GODS!
The good news is that Cameo doesn't appear to have an intestinal blockage, which has been our biggest worry.
I will touch base again tomorrow with the vet.
Next kitty to see the vet: Mysti. She is having some major dental issues. The poor girl has always had bad teeth.
DeleteI am so sorry to hear about your kitties....good luck, AOW.
DeleteThat Cameo is such a beauty - and personality too, I can tell! What, pray tell, is the breed that has 'zero fear'?
ReplyDeleteGlad it wasn't the 'worst' for her, Sad to see our little friends age faster than we do.
Baysider,
DeleteCameo isn't out of the woods yet. She must resume eating her special food. Bit both the vet and I are hopeful that we can get her to go in that direction!
Cameo is 1/4 Bluepoint Siamese and 3/4 Russian Blue. Yes, she is a plushy beauty. She was the runt of the litter, but always rooted aggressively for the teat. LOL.
DeleteAh, yes. Her coloring is Russian Blue.
ReplyDelete