Steve Haarman

I look through the window

And can see into the woods

They look like the fall woods

Except for the snow. They are

Bright from the sun and have

Their share of beauty. The lake

Seems frozen over. There are no

Waves and I can see no movement.

The sky is blue with white clouds

And I am thankful for this gift

From nature. In a dozen days

It will be February and then

Valentine’s Day. My late sister

Was born on this day. She was a

Year older than me. My older

Sister is gone now. She wanted

To make it to 80, but lung cancer

Took her just before she reached it.

My brother just two years younger

Than me is gone so it leaves me

And two younger brothers still

Kicking. My mom was the oldest

Of seven and outlived all of her

Siblings. I remember them all and

Miss seeing them. The world keeps

Turning.

Stanski

January 19, 2024, ^

I was wearing a blue stocking cap

When I spotted him. He was known

For being evil. I left the store I was in

Ans followed him. He turned and

Looked at me, but I had changed to

a yellow cap, and he looked away

and continued. He knocked over and

injured an old lady, took her purse and

went on. I encountered him, this time

wearing a white cap. I pushed a knife

into his heart and took the purse. I

returned it to the fallen lady. She

thanked me and complimented me

on my nice white and red cap. By

this time the police has arrived and

I walked away. It had been a good

Night for dreaming.

Stanski

January 18, 2024, ^

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, ^

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, 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, ^

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, ^

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, ^

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, ^

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, ^

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, ^