Some Valentine Birds and a Little Snow Love

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I admit to feeling relief when I’ve read about the brutal cold and endless snow that I’ve missed during our North Carolina sojourn.  But I’ve missed winter too.  And that might explain why I felt like a kid longing for a no-school day when the snow started to fall on Wednesday.  I wasn’t thrilled about waking up IMG_6988to no power on Thursday, but we’re used to long power outages, and this one was over in the early afternoon.  Then the ice turned to huge fluffy flakes, and I was glued to the window again.  One full-fledged snowstorm a winter suits me well.

IMG_6832The birds at our feeder acted like they wondered why the heck they were spending the winter in North Carolina when serious snow started falling.  Eight cardinals, about twenty white-throated sparrows, some titmice, Carolina chickadees, Carolina wrens, house finches, two towhees, and a couple of bluebirds were flitting in and out of the bushes next to the feeder.  When the snow got heavier they perched in the shelter of the bush.  I captured a few of them in the photos on this page.IMG_6937

I was definitely in a mood to celebrate the snow when I saw Laura Purdie Salas’ 15 word-or-less poem prompt on Thursday afternoon.  Here’s an expanded version of the poem that her snow-cloud prompt inspired:

IMG_6810Recipe for a No-School Day

A bottle of blizzard
A gallon of glee
A bushel of books
A barrel of tea
A cubit of sun
An icicle tree
An acre of forts
A merriest me.
–Buffy Silverman, all rights reserved.

Happy Valentines’ Day, and Happy Poetry Friday!  Visit Linda Baie at TeacherDance for a sweet Valentine’s Day Poetry Friday celebration.IMG_6864IMG_6973

50 thoughts on “Some Valentine Birds and a Little Snow Love

  1. Hi, Buffy–I’m back again to say that I’ve nominated you for a Sunshine Award! You can read about it at my post this week–fun if you have time.

  2. I’m pretty sure I have been sitting in snow for nearly two months now. It’s been colder and snowier than usual around here. It’s winter so we just try to make the best of it. I have found joy in the variety of types of snows we’ve experienced this year. Each one has been a bit different from the others. I enjoyed the way your post celebrated the excitement of snow. What better than a bushel of books on a snowy day? The photographs are amazing! Thanks for sharing your winter wonderland with us.

  3. Oh, I love your poem! You captured the joy of a snow day perfectly. We had 2 “snow/ice” days this week, but no snow or ice. I sure did enjoy the time off of work! Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos, too, Buffy!

  4. Yea! I finally made it over here! So many good posts on Friday.
    I LOVE your recipe! But I think this winter someone has at least doubled the recipe!
    Snowing again today. More good cozy time by the woodstove! Lights flickered but we still have power. Hope you stay warm and safe.

  5. What great birdie photos. I miss feeding the birds — we lost our battle with the squirrels and stopped putting out seed. 🙁 Great recipe poem; happy to see the “barrel of tea” especially!

    1. Jama, there is a cayenne pepper additive you can add to the bird seed. It’s called “squirrel Away.” Birds are not affected by it, but mammals are. It totally did the trick for me.

  6. I have an affinity for birds and I fear they are suffering greatly this winter. The photos, though, give me hope. An excellent post!

  7. Recipe poems seem a little tired to me lately but yours is perfect–really interesting words and properly chosen rhymes. Nice one, Buffy.

  8. And all we received was the cold, last week-now it’s warm, warm, warm! Strange weather, Buffy. Your photos are poetry too! We don’t have the joy of cardinals here in Colorado, and I miss them (grew up in Missouri). Your poem celebrates just right! Happy Valentine’s Day!

    1. I took them through our bedroom window (with one foot on the bed and the other on the window sill–the bottom part of the windows have screens that can’t come off–one of these days I’m going to crash.) Glad you like the photos. I should probably lighten some of them (Jeff says it’s easy to do, but I have not tried yet.)

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