Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

It's Winter Time

My previous plans for today got postponed till Friday,
opening up a Window of Time to soak in the season🙏💖

Eccles.3:1
To every thing there is a season, 
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

It’s winter, time to marvel without Duty’s pressing Must
Time to linger in garden-catalogues and stir dream-dust...



Time to look at the birds and hear the words Jesus decreed
Do not worry, because your Heavenly Father knows Your need...



It hard to tear myself away from the window these days
The finch feeding frenzy is quite phenomenal!!
How many can you find in the photo below?
I counted 24! and there were many more not on the photo!




It’s winter, time to wander in the snow-embellished wood...


Time to enjoy the fruit of harvest-toil with gratitude...


Time to trade work shoes for slippers and pad about the house
As sweet and simply happy as a little country mouse...



It’s winter, time to marvel without Duty’s pressing Must
Time to linger in garden-catalogues and stir dream-dust
Time to travel the world through books to destinies afar
And, with each turn of page forget how old we really are
Time to look at the birds and hear the words Jesus decreed
Do not worry, because your Heavenly Father knows Your need

It’s winter, time to wander in the snow-embellished wood
Time to enjoy the fruit of harvest-toil with gratitude
Time to trade work shoes for slippers and pad about the house
As sweet and simply happy as a little country mouse
Time to pull child upon the knee and gently rockabye
Before the summer beckons them to spread their wings and fly

It’s winter, time to bundle up when every footstep creaks
When the sharp air pinches and squeeze noses, chins and cheeks
Foolish to challenge Old Man Winter’s churlish howdy-do-o-o-o/wh-o-o-o❄❅❆
So, wear those hats and mittens like your mother told you to
And splurge a bit; indulge in marshmallow-hot-chocolate cheers
All things in moderation keeps us young at heart, my dears

It’s winter, time to dabble in scrabble duels, and win😅
And tell the wind-wolf 'not by the hair on my chinny-chin
May he come in'; and if he tries the chimney he’ll be caught
For I have stoked the fire and it’s very, very hot
A fine place to pull up a chair and talk and talk and talk
And laugh the kind of laughter that is not shushed by the clock

It's winter, time to sip star-sparkles from a frost-dipped mug
And turn, what once was Future/nothing into a warm memory-hug
To pan for winter-gold is such a thrilling escapade
To be content to rejoice in this day the Lord has made
And thank Him for enchantments no other season bestows
Jack Frost's art on the window, fat snowman with carrot nose

It’s winter, time to bake a cake and celebrate Today
And feast on a big slice of what makes lifetimes slip away
Like icicles that dangle from eaves like clear candlesticks
That Sunbeam dares with kisses and that Youngster picks and licks
And Adult says they shouldn’t though we have forgotten why
With so much to remember as the days and years fly by

It’s winter, time to drift across the quiet land on skis
And worship the Creator of white skies, white fields, white trees
And find new ways to wonder at winter splendor, age old
At Masterpiece on Masterpiece only God can unfold
At muffled nooks and crooks and brooks, at firesides and such
Where just like snowflakes, winter’s moments melt beneath our touch…

© Janet Martin

It’s winter, time to dabble in scrabble duels, and win😅


It’s winter, time to bake a cake and celebrate Today
And feast on a big slice of what makes lifetimes slip away...


It’s winter, time to drift across the quiet land on skis
And worship the Creator of white skies, white fields, white trees...



And find new ways to wonder at winter splendor, age old
At Masterpiece on Masterpiece only God can unfold

At muffled nooks


 and crooks


 and brooks,...





Monday, January 15, 2024

How The Plump Dove Fluffs Its Feathers (among a few other observations)


Happy, happy halfway through January 2024!!

Ps.145:9-10
The Lord is good to all; 
 he has compassion on all he has made.
All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.

How the plump dove fluffs its feathers with no need for looking glass...


How, if we look, we find much to be tenderly thankful for
How a good book adds a touch of passion to commonplace chore...
(more about below book Here: Homemaker's Prayer)


How a cup of tea is like a gentle, pick-me-upper hug...


How snow-stenciled scenery always gives my heartstring a tug...



How the plump dove fluffs its feathers with no need for looking glass
How love’s sentimental tether binds the present to the past
How spring, summer, fall and winter, Beauty cheers thought’s countenance
And how prayer’s flight is unhindered by season or circumstance

How we are awed, sweetly speechless by Nature’s Grand Orchestra
How God teaches and beseeches mortal worship through its law
How the creature is no match for the Creator; never was
Never will be; He is greater and deserves endless applause

How the measure of God’s pleasure steals the show without contest
How each new day grants the treasure of a fresh and untried quest
How laughter’s melodic mettle fills the air with seraphim
How the song of the tea kettle is my favorite kitchen hymn

How, if we look, we find much to be tenderly thankful for
How a good book adds a touch of passion to commonplace chore
How a cup of tea is like a gentle, pick-me-upper hug
How snow-stenciled scenery always gives my heartstring a tug

How in spite of so much sadness, gladness survives trouble’s gall
How, despite shape, height or status love is still One-size-fits-all
How a morning always rouses what has never been before
Mercy’s renewed summons wows us with God’s faithfulness once more

How, the howl of younger hunger slowly but surely succumbs
To a wizened, humbler wonder satisfied to savor crumbs
How at last we learn the secret to happiness, fit for kings
Not in gimme-gimme-reaches, but in joy of simple things

How, through loss we gain awareness of phrases like you-and-me
Cherishing the fragile rareness of fine words like ‘us’ and ‘we’
How, here we are cradled briefly between two eternities
One, that concerns the Soul chiefly, one of Bygone centuries

How an almost-poem’s tempo keens the poet’s appetite
How ink-swirls compose mementos of rhythm and rhymed delight
How the Bard, kindly encumbered with God’s charge to dredge blurred deeps
Probes the place where Ballad slumbers or Elusive Poem sleeps

How the Finesse of Forever wakes us to the wealth of Now
How the howling gale of winter makes home palatial, somehow
How we chuckle while the weather throws tantrums that never last
How the plump dove fluffs its feathers ready to face one more blast

© Janet Martin

(Below, the cardinal and Blue Jay pics are from my mother-in-law's house yesterday)


How spring, summer, fall and winter, Beauty cheers thought’s countenance...






Bird-watching bliss these days as the cold temps 
and snowy weather brings a feeding frenzy!









Tuesday, February 28, 2023

February/Winter Flowers


I picked the flower puzzle to do (see quandary here
because there's just something about flowers
in winter that can't be beat!!


even the pieces look like a handful of petals tossed on a garden path!
So, let's celebrate the last day of February with winter flowers
even if they are painted on cardboard💖😊


They kindle wild dream-pleasure for gardens not planted yet
They gleam with priceless treasure of fond memories to be
They rouse a youthful yearning in the appetites they whet
For perfumed pinks and purples heady with sweet nectar-tea
And like children with rosy faces, kissed by brisk wind-chill
They bloom a little rosier on winter’s windowsill

They delight hearts with visions of a sunny summer’s day
Where butterflies and laughter flit and flirt with honey bee
They make indoors feel friendlier while winter whiles away
As we stroll perfect gardens in a plot of fantasy
A welcome splash of color on a dolor afternoon
They garnish kitchen tables with a glint of May or June

They cheer us with old fashioned charm and make us humbly glad
To be alive where flowers wait to burst the bud with bloom
As blush and gold menageries drive poets gently mad
With so much beauty to behold from Mother Nature’s loom
Primed with a plethora of plumes no tombs can keep at bay 
Unfolding outdoor living rooms still snuggly tucked away

© Janet Martin

Speaking of outdoor living rooms
I would love to try this come spring!



 

Monday, February 27, 2023

In Winter's Storm (there is no place like home)

 Nothing like a winter storm to rekindle thankfulness for home!



Here winks the lure of friendly fireside
Cheering the labor’r toward eventide
Here, with loved ones to gather and to sup
Fruit of love’s labor filling plate and cup
Here the tea kettle, while centuries wing
Pours fresh-steeped comfort for pauper and king
Here, like a haven while wild wind-beasts brawl
Home in winter’s storm, is sweetest of all

Here wish-lists dwindle, snuggly satisfied
With hugs and slippers, while the countryside
Is tossed, lost in white brumal gusting swell
As Old Man Winter pummels hill and dell
…and we, borne on parchment catamaran
Sail into ancient worlds and back again
Where no matter how fair the climes we roam
Nothing compares to winter’s home-sweet-home

Here happiness is like a warm handshake
A steaming ‘cup o’ and a bite o’ cake
Here hobbies are like mini getaways
Here mother sometimes pauses work and plays
Here we have nowhere else we’d rather be
Than watching birds flit from feeder to tree
And wrangling thankfulness into a poem
As we thank God for winter’s home, sweet home

Here beckons the gold halo of lamplight
Here little tots are tucked in extra tight
And all is quiet save the howling gale
That overflows contentment’s hallowed grail
That crackles and pops as flame-dancers leap
And book soft-plops as reader falls asleep
Lulled by the lays that rake the leafless loam
While kindling thankful praise for home, sweet home

© Janet Martin



Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Of Glorious Winter-tide


This week its the snow!!!




The other week the ice left us speechless with awe!!







Now is the time of cheer
Of cozy countryside
Tucked beneath white starlight veneer
Or the veil of a bride

Now is the time to pause
From plant and harvest toil
While earth receives the wild applause
Of gales and sparkle-spoil

Of snowflakes swirling round
In dizzying descent
Until the land is grandly crowned
With frosty filament

Now is the time to ling-
-ger longer in a book
And let the days of winter bring
The days summer forsook

Of bowers bent with leaf
Of flower-befringed walks
Of glad tidings of golden sheaf
Of rose and hollyhocks

Of looking back to where
We find ourselves today
Before we turn agape to stare
At worlds melted away

Where now is the sweet time
To slow our hasting stride
And revel in the crystal clime
Of glorious winter-tide

...as we combat the cold
That keens our appetite
With supper hour dipped in gold 
Of gentle candle-light 
   
© Janet Martin






Saturday, January 15, 2022

Mid-Winter Mid-Summer Stroll

Happy Halfway through January. Already?!!

This poem was first inspired by yesterday's sunshine 
pouring through the flowering maple
at the back door...




Let’s pretend it’s mid-July
Sprawl beneath the sun-stoked sky
Let’s pretend a butterfly
Flitting plume to plume
Let’s pretend a garden path
Warm with winter’s aftermath
Fringed with ardent autograph
Of sunflow’rs in bloom

Let’s pretend pink lemonade
Blankets tossed on pools of shade
Cricket and leaf serenade
Backyard getaway
Book and hammock luxury
Picnic basket poetry
Bare foot banter fancy-free
Winter f-a-a-r away

Let’s pretend end of a dock
Sunsets after nine o’ clock
Nose to nose with hollyhock
Hello, honey-bee
Let’s pretend bright greens and golds
Where the countryside unfolds
Hill and hollow wonder-wolds
Far as eye can see

Let’s pretend a summer stroll
On the beach where sea-songs roll
Over feet and through the soul
Weather forecast, hot
Let’s pretend its mid-July
Lounge beneath its sapphire sky
Kick off shoes and…b-r-r-r! oh my!
On second thought, let’s not!

© Janet Martin