SLATHERING

Waves slathering the shore

Leave the impression of as

Well as actual ice. The beauty

Is profound, shockingly bright,

Almost blinding, we squint to

Get a better observation. The

Sun has not forgotten us today.

For aa couple of weeks there

Was nothing but gray with no

Snow, but now we have snow

And freezing weather. I hope

It is doing some good for my

Garden, but that is a wait and

See matter. The mystic of nature

Leaves us in awe. We are brightened,

Bewildered, bewitched, and bothered,

But nature rolls along. Some days we

Want the sun, others rain or clouds,

And we settle on what is given to us.

Nature on the other hand has no

Feeling. It just is an today its presence

Is felt in a big way. We are thankful.

Stanski

January 17, 2024, ^

BEING THERE

Gum cracking, lip smacking,

And spitting. All this on the

Side lines of a football game.

Anger shows, shouting at the

Officials and announcers

Second guessing play selection

And penalty calls. Bad conduct

Reinforces its propriety and

In doing so sets a bad example

For young fans. Does anyone

Spit on their living room rug

Of grope themselves waiting

For the next pitch. There are

Many fine coaches who have

Fine demeanor on the side

Lines. They seldom second guess

Calls and have a red flag if they

Wish to challenge and then accept

The result and get on with the game.

This is the behavior which is

Acceptable and the gum chewers,

Spitters, and those spewing anger

Should observe and imitate, instead

Of throwing things and acting as if

Everything is fine.

Stanski

January 16, 2024, ^

SOFT CLOUDS

Soft, almost pink, fluffy

Clouds floated above the

Icy inland sea. They were

accompanied by blue waves

and a beautiful sky. The sun

helped warm the negative

degree cold. No penguins

could be spotted and

Antarctica must have been

Warmer. Sunshine is always

Lifting and after several days

Of gray was extremely welcome.

The ice mountains along the

Shore were not deterred.

They were laying claim and

There was no one about to

Argue the point. We are halfway

Through January an only the

Beauty makes it tolerable.

Stanski

January 15, 2024, ^

BLACK BIRD

A black bird flies out of

The woods and over the water.

It looks like it’s going to dive

Into the lake and nab some food,

But at the last-minute rises and

Returns to the woods. You can

Only imagine what is going on.

It is still morning and the ten o’clock

Sun is almost blinding and shadows

May have changed the birds mind.

The mysteries of nature are profound

And it would not be wise to investigate

All the possibilities. The large black

Bird is our of the woods. It circles, lifts,

Dives, and repeats several times before

Finally giving up and moving on. It is

Wise to know when one is defeated

New days bring fresh chances at what

You wish to undertake. There is nothing

Wrong with failure as long as you are

Willing to try again. This is one of the

Secrets of successful living. Go for it,

My friend and don’t give up.

Stanski

January 14, 2024, ^

CONTINUATION

The light is bright and gray

Causing you to squint.

Light snow blows off

The trees. It lands, but

We have nowhere near

The predictions. Very

Few are complaining.

They are still tired of

The ten months snow we had two

Years ago. It wasn’t the

Quantity but the continuation

Sometimes you cry out

Enough is enough, knowing

That more is on the way.

Santa Claus is coming to town

But he will make the trip

Only once, so you better

Be good, better be nice.

He, too, doesn’t like ice.

Animal tracks are few.

The birds are not flying.

They have enough food.

We continue.

Stanski on January 13, ^

LOOKING OUT TODAY

At the horizon the clouds

Are not gray, which is a change.

They are a forest green and

You could be easily fooled

If you tried to transverse them

They would give way to free fall

And hurt. The rust color is just color

And is the effect of the sun.

It is fun to imagine what creatures

Loom in that mysterious area..

I would not want to be there alone or

With someone. Violent creatures are advertised

On television these days promoting

Adventures and wars where there are

No victors but a lot of people of all species

Get hurt. In the end we all suffer as we have

Lost faith in ourselves and our abilities.

We move on quietly, hiding as we go and

Assuring ourselves as much as possible

That we wont get hurt. Looking back we

Can see a lot of damage and clutter.

Our minds can be horrible and we must

Avoid getting carried away in dream land.

There may be a day when it is all real.

Stanski

January 11, 2024, ^

LOOKING ACROSS

At the horizon the clouds

Are not gray, which is a change.

They are a forest green and

You could be easily fooled

If you tried to transverse them

They would give way to free fall

And hurt. The rust color is just color

And is the effect of the sun.

It is fun to imagine what creatures

Loom in that mysterious area..

I would not want to be there alone or

With someone. Violent creatures are advertised

On television these days promoting

Adventures and wars where there are

No victors but a lot of people of all species

Get hurt. In the end we all suffer as we have

Lost faith in ourselves and our abilities.

We move on quietly, hiding as we go and

Assuring ourselves as much as possible

That we wont get hurt. Looking back we

Can see a lot of damage and clutter.

Our minds can be horrible and we must

Avoid getting carried away in dream land.

There may be a day when it is all real.

Stanski

January 11, 2024, ^

BLUSTER

The big bluster flew by and

Left nothing notable to talk about

As so often happens, something

Big is coming but fizzles out to

Where we have nothing to talk about

Except its absence. Better that then

A big storm which will take several

Days to clear out. The winter is not

Disappointing except to some skiers or

Snowmobilers. To the rest of us it

Saves on our shovels and backs. This

Will not go on forever. We will have

Our turn and it probably won’t be

Pleasant or grand. In the meantime

Gray prevails without a hint of sunshine.

Not much snow to talk about and

No one knows for sure what impact

This will have on the spring ground.

Small animals are hibernated away.

They have stashed enough food

Away and are probably wondering

If it is time to come out again and

Enjoy the fresh air. They will probably

Stay put as will we.

Stanski

January 9, 2024, ^

RUMBLE

I heard the distant rumble

Like thunder beyond the distant hllls

Not to panic I grabbed my keys

Stepped outside to face the breeze

Got hit in the face with snow

From the roof It felt like a kick from

A donkey’s hoof. I backed up to

Take it all in. Went back into the house

Crawled into bed like a lazy louse

Heard more rumble, but then I  knew

It came down like the other shoe.

I had to dig my way out

This is winter, you must be stout.

I grabbed a beer and a shovel

Drank the beer and held the shovel

Figured out my course of action

I’d push some here and some there

Pretty soon it would all be clear

Couldn’t collect any money. That

Was for the days they called me sonny

The storm blew over to  my delight

I hate to put up such a fight

I’m happy I still had the stamina and

Could conquer such a worthy for.

One thing I feel lucky about is;

There wasn’t any ice in that snow.

Stanski

January 8, 2034, ^

THE BIG SHOT

The big shot wasn’t so big

A few inches of light snow

And a small amount

Of wind to blow it around

The one thing you can say

Is that it is beautiful and a

Winter wonderland. The

Sun showed itself in an

Undramatic way and in the

Process broke a string of

Several all-gray days. It is

Good to see the sun and

We can use the Vitamin D

It makes. The temperature is

Mild and the snow is beginning

To drop off the trees. The

Mini ice mountains are gone

And the waves hitting the

Shore are mild, causing no

Alarm. Two weeks of winter

Gone and eleven to go. So

Far so good.

Stanski

January 7,, 2024, ^