The Skins of a Dream

The Skins of a Dream

Paper birch, way back in the woods,
      whose barks
            curl back like the creamy

skins of a dream...

~ John Thompson ~

To learn more about the poet, John Thompson, click on this link .

Winter Dragon

Ice claws

hang from the roof,

drip spring;

not fast enough.

Be quick. Be gone.

Bohemian Waxwings

Bohemian Waxwings

Nomadic

you follow the fruit

swallow your pleasures whole.

Photos and words copyright 2015 Carol Steel

Snow and Ice

The bird feeders wear ice lace, snow hats and icicles. 

My neighbour told me we've had over

twelve feet of snow this winter.

The ducks sit on the snow banks waiting for breakfast 

and are nearly eye level with us, as we sit at the kitchen table.

Our yard is waves and troughs of snow, a seascape of white.

It's all lovely but I'm weary of wading through snow 

and snow and snow.

Come See

Blue Jays lunch on cracked corn leftovers scattered on spruce. In discovery and discussion, they are screaming children at play. Come see, come see.

Winter Goes On

 "My snow bank is higher than yours."

This refrain, this relentless winter,

a season of snow measured

in vertical feet.

Despite our whining, the winter offers 

woods of magic shadows and light.

The chickadees and blue jays

fill trees with the chattering joy 

of their daily rounds.

Icicles form 

on eaves and porches,

 on the north side of the bird feeders,

the elbows of trees.

Winter is 

what winter is.

Snow and cold

and so much beauty.

Winter Solitude

Winter solitude

in a world of one color,

the sound of wind.

Basho

(translated by Robert Hass)

When the Winter Comes

On every twig and rail and jutting spout,

The icy spears were adding to their length

Against the arrows of the coming sun.

Henry David Thoreau

Lines from Thoreau's poem entitled

Within the Circuit of This Plodding Life

First Snowfall

First snowfall, 

first flakes soft feathering, 

ice on your tongue.

Prepare for the Coming Season

This chipmunk lives in our rock walls, one of many small animals who cohabit this property.  

As we prepare for winter, bring in outdoor furniture, wrap fragile shrubs, trim branches, mulch leaves, we let the chipmunks and squirrels harvest anything they want and need from our yard. They've cleaned off the grapes and are gathering rowan berries, stag-horn sumac cones, acorns, evergreen cones, and barberry bush fruits.

This little fellow's pouches are swollen with loot, to stock his larder for the long cold months ahead. Good for him!

Bright Colours of Spring

At daybreak, the grey sky opened to orange, yellow, pink and mauve.  Though I know this means more grey later today, perhaps dampness and achy arthritic joints, I relish colours anywhere I can find them.  Spring has been long coming and the usual swathes of bright flowers are nowhere to be found, not yet.

 

At least, they have not yet appeared in this yard.   I wait with the pale grass bleached by winter, the grey rock wall and the grey squirrels that explore there, the aging cedar fence broken under the weight of winter, the garden too wet to rake; wait for the fresh green of spring to push through matted leaves and the detritus of winter.

I long for the bright colours to burst open.

Photos and words are ©2009-2014 Carol Steel

Bald Eagles and Mallards

As we back the car up the driveway,

we see a mallard pair standing on the roof ridge

looking down the hill toward the Petitcodiac River marshes.

What are they doing on the roof?

Then as we back into the roadway,

we notice behind our neighbour's house,

two Bald Eagles sitting, watching the ducks.

The ducks fly toward the river

and the larger eagle flies too.

Round to the front of our house, we drive.

No ducks in sight,

no eagle.

Mystery.

When we return form errands,

the smaller eagle still sits;

sits still, two hours later,

waiting.

Photos copyright 2010-2014 Carol Steel

Return of the Robins

Could this be spring coming, with the return of the robins, warbling "cheering-cheer-up-cheerio"?

Photos and words copyright 2011-2014 Carol Steel

Hard Winter for White Tail Deer

It is unusual for the white tail deer 

to show up in urban neighbourhoods 

during the day.  The snow is deeper this year 

and food in the woods must be harder to reach.  

They are eating corn we have thrown for the ducks, 

and nibbling the needles of yew and crab-apple branch tips.

Photos and words are copyright 2011-2014 Carol Steel.

Where the Fence Ends

Where the Fence Ends

Where the fence ends, a doe with her yearlings and fawns cross into my yard, over the crusted snow. Inside, I grab my camera. The doe looks at me, ears to the side, turning, listening. She stamps, huffs air and flags. Then leaping, they all disappear, leaving photos of brown blur.

I learn to be still; to wait by the window.

If they notice me now, I think they must know: I mean no harm, so they continue browsing, crab-apple, cedar, needles of yew. But, as I see their dark eyes seeing me, I feel such longing to escape this barrier of window and walls, to burst outside, breathe winter air, and run where the fence ends.


Photos and words are copyright 2011-2014 Carol Steel

What We See in the Yard

 

Each day in winter, we feed the ducks.

  When the snow is too deep for them to forage on the river marsh,

it is essential to remember to throw

the cracked corn out for them.

Our biggest problem is to avoid attracting pigeons.

 

 

However, for the ducks, the larger issue

is avoiding becoming lunch.

 

 

In the past week, hungry Bald Eagles have patrolled

the tallest evergreens near our home.

 

 

We don't always see them as their heads

look like snow in the trees and their dark bodies blend

with the branches.  Can you see two?

 

 

Once we spotted them and began to take photos,

the eagles moved to another tree. 

We'll stay inside from now on;

we don't wish to disturb them.

 

 

We feel lucky to live in a place where we can enjoy

 such magnificent birds from our kitchen windows.

 

 

I wonder if we could entice the eagles

to eat the pigeons.

 

I can live with that.

Happy Holidays

 

Happy Holidays from Our Home to Yours