We are mid-winter and the temperature has dropped into the freezing realm. Sparky broke out the space heaters in November. I washed the winter blankets and deployed them on the beds – ours and the guest bed way back in November as well. I had delayed switching out the summer pajamas for the winter variety but it was necessary after Thanksgiving. I packed away all the sleeveless nighties and hauled out the flannel and fleece. I had earlier switched the regular wardrobe for the long sleeved shirts. The spring and summer wear have been put away replacing them with corduroy and heavy denim trousers. I was resigned to the inevitable cold of winter but the deepest freeze is upon us.
Sadly this colder weather has resulted in an influx of unwelcome visitors. The spiders decided to take refuge from the cold in my house. It is making me a bit jumpy. I never know when one will suddenly appear. There was one that started to create his web by attaching one end on my knife block! He was dispatched very quickly. Another thought the shower was a suitable home. Likewise he met a steaming hot and watery death. My Roomba flushed one out from under the bed and unlucky for him I was wearing shoes.
We were prepared for the winter. And are making the best we can of the cold. There was a little difficulty finding some ice melt pellets but managed to find some at Lowe’s. The cars were winterized just before Christmas. Sparky put the grill away and removed the window air conditioner unit way back in October. Now are the days of having the snow shovels and the boot rack near the door.
Winter winds freeze bones
Fire dies slow
Hope like steam rises
This poem is a Lune. The Lune is an American Haiku created by Robert Kelly consisting of 3 lines with a strict syllable count of 5/3/5 but no requirement for a season word and no prohibition of rhyme or topic.
A Different Perspective 
a lovely Lune poem Val. and oh, i can only imagine the freezing cold temperature. i am not sure if i would survive though…. and geez, the spiders? that’s another problem for me i can’t also tolerate them….
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed the Lune! It was a real surprise how quickly they took over once we were gone for 10 days! I think they are now honoring the cease fire agreement – they must stay in their territories (basement, garage, basement office) and only venturing into the neutral zone if they have to and only briefly. So far there haven’t been any more intruders in the kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and bathrooms…
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But the days are getting longer now….(k)
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That is true but that just means the cold is happening in daylight… We are still not in a thaw!
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It’s a bit warmer this week, but they say the cold will be back thus weekend.
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😦 We are supposed to get snow on Friday… I am hoping for Spring sooner rather than later!
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It’s not a steady path.
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True that!! I’m just hoping we don’t have snow in April again!!
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Yes that’s always a rude awakening.
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The weather has been about as predictable as the pandemic… rude doesn’t touch it!
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brrrr We have cod here, but not prolonged. It was 36 this morning and predicted to be 70 this afternoon! Our winters are a combo of fall+winter+spring all in one!
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Cool nights and warm days sound wonderful!! Where is here??
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Central/North Texas. We will have close to freezing early mornings and upper 60s-into 70s afternoons for the next 10 days.
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I can imagine that plays havoc with the plants on the patio but much better than here where we are lucky to get a high of 30F! I’ll trade!
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brrr – but our summers are brutal…. 95 in normal with heat index higher. 🥵
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We are hot here too! With that dreaded humidity…
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humidity is high here, but not like Houston-it’s brutal near the gulf coast!
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We have very high humidity – since we are pretty close to Lake Michigan…
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ah—ug—
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LOL!
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I would like to see a photo of you outfitted with your winter nifghties !! 🙂
And also a little drawing of the spiders in various positions would be funny!!
Take care of the cold, Val ( and Sparky )
Love ❤
Michel
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Hehe! I am sorry but Sparky has put his foot down on posting pajama photos… My winter sleepwear ranges from fleece pajamas to flannel nightgowns to leggings (like long underwear) under heavy cotton knit nightgowns. When it is especially cold, I’ll wear heavy socks too! And yes I have the sheet, thermal blanket, comforter, bedspread and sometimes another blanket. If the furnace ever gives out, we have down sleeping bags rated for sub-zero temperatures that will be added to the mix! As for a drawing – I will not get close enough to draw a picture of the 8-leggers!!!
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I see you are well equipped to weather the polar night, Val ! 🙂
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I’m trying to stay warm….
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Michel, you naughty boy! You have reinforced the French man’s stereotype of the romantic. How about it, Muri? A photo of you outfitted in your winter nighties? 😉
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Sorry Judy but Sparky has nixed that suggestion. They aren’t anything to look at… Now my summer sleepwear is much prettier! (no – no photos – ever) Hehe!
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We’ve been dealing with brutally cold temps in my area as well, though we’ve had some lovely days above 40 here and there so we could wash the ice melt off the cars before the next snowfall and freeze, chuckle.
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No chance to wash the car here. We are still pretty cold! I’m hoping that it will warm up but the prediction is for more snow!
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Winter light slants shadows
Ice crystals
Shimmering prisms
Or Bear’s haiku on winter
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
❤ ❤ ❤
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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Bear is so poetic! But then again just gazing into her eyes you can tell she has a poet’s soul!!! (And I love yours too!)
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Bear’s my mentor. ❤
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I wish I had such a great (fluffy and loyal) mentor…
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❤ She's amazing.
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I concur!
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you could link this to the d’Verse prompt of a haibun on ‘winter’ … sounds like a nightmare to me! Our months of rain bought a very pregnant huntsman in. She laid her many eggs before I could evict her, nothing killed here. Her eggs hatched and my house geckos have been feasting since …. from dozens I can’t spot one. Doesn’t mean I wont see a few fully grown ones at a later stage …
Sun is out for a second day, off to have fun 🙂
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*shudder* I looked up what a huntsman was and now I’m rethinking my desire to visit Down Under! I’m glad the geckos are well fed but I’d have abandoned the house and possibly burned it down!!!!
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lol we did grow up with them .. a bit like you endure icy cold winters, we are used to huntsmen and they are not even poisonous!
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Well at least that’s reassuring! I can’t imagine a spider that big being poisonous! It is the thing of nightmares! One of the by products of having such harsh winters is that all the bugs mostly die and it stunts many of the others – we don’t get the giant bugs like in tropical areas!!!
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I can live with spiders it’s mice that bugs me and we have fields and grain elevators around us so mice has always been a problem. We finally hired an exterminator and don’t deal with the mess anymore.
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Hehe! I love mice but not in the house. That is an advantage of having cats… too bad Sparky is allergic or I’d get one that hunts mice and spiders!!
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I am not a cat person inside a house. But we have a ton of feral cats around and still have mice. They would rather hunt the trash cans than a mouse.
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That’s too bad. I grew up next to a corn/wheat/soybean field. We had indoor cats and the mice stayed out of the house… Of course when we let Missy out she’d return with all sorts of “gifts” to leave on the front porch – from mice and rats and once she dragged home an opossum! She was a really good hunter and had no interest in being a trashy cat!
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We have owls that help keep the population down but the exterminator is by far the best investment
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I’d love to have more owls… Ever since they developed the land behind us we haven’t had much wildlife – mice or otherwise. The current issue is that our subdivision has lots of common ground that is wooded and the deer population is pretty high. Since you can’t shoot deer in the city limits they come here and hang out especially in the winter. I guess they think our shrubbery is pretty tasty!
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We have deer in our yard a lot in the winter too. They like to eat the corn knocked to the ground by thr birds.
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Our deer knock over the feeders, strip the shrubs, gnaw little trees to death, and dig up the tulip bulbs! If they just hoovered the spilled stuff I’d like them more…
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They killed my maple tree. I was
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Not impressed. The road bouncing caused it to post too soon.
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Hehe! The perils of texting on the road…
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Yes.
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🙂
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It is unseasonably warm here today, mid-forties. The snow is melting. Spring hope is in the air. Lovely lune. I like forms where the rules are few but firm. I don’t mind spiders (other than hairy ones the size of my palm) and I generally leave them alone, hoping they’ll extend me the same courtesy. Some are captured alive and delivered back to the great outdoors. I wear the same clothing to bed regardless of the season. We just add more blankets in winter. Having a dog to snuggle with helps, too.
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I think having 3 dogs might be in order as cold as its been here! As for the spiders we are now in a truce and as long as they honor the agreement we will be fine…
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The proverbial three-dog night. I haven’t seen a spider in a while but our cat is fixated on a particular kitchen cabinet where he (maybe?) heard a mouse.
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When we were first married we had 2 cats and a dog. The cats would freak me out by staring at things – especially at night if Sparky wasn’t home! Once it was because there was a bat in the return air duct, another time it was a bird that flew down the chimney and was in the basement… The only time they stared at the cabinets was when I had newly opened cat treats and they could smell them – they were so food oriented that it would put most dogs to shame!
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Having never experienced as cold weather as this I find it rather inviting, with images of red wine, hearty beef casseroles and burning log fires. Except for the spiders and the flannel pjs. Since retirement I have purchased two cardigans but both are short sleeved.
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Short sleeved?!?!?! If you were in these temps you would be begging for flannel pajamas! I made chicken pot pie for dinner tonight and last night it was a Japanese curry – both meals to warm you up! Sunday was chili soup so we are staying warm inside and out… Leftovers for the rest of the week!
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We had winter last week. Today hit 70 degrees but I’m still in jeans. 🙂
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That sounds so warm! I guess your winter is a very short season!
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You’re Lune poem warmed us up! Brrrr, stay warm my friend!
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Thanks Karla! I’m so glad you enjoyed the lune. I’m toasty today – I’ve got my big fluffy sweater on and the space heater is humming!
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Yippee!!
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🙂
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When we lived in Oregon for years, we had those kind of winters. Now, in Boise, we have very mild winters. There were a few weeks I couldn’t walk outside because of the cold but that was all this winter. Most days get over 35 degrees and now, this week, we have been up in the 40’s. Spring is always welcome now matter where you winter!
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I grew up in central Indiana and we had snow – but nothing like we get here! Just 3 hours south and there is a big difference! Spring has spring in Florida already. My sister sent me photos of her petunias blooming!!
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It’s nuts here..40’s then back to almost 70..back to 50’s/60’s It’s crazy
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The weather has been very unpredictable this winter. I predict an equally wild spring!
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The weather has been very unpredictable this winter. I predict an equally wild spring!
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Haiku stickler alert: There are only two syllables in your second line. As for the temps, random spikes of cold, followed by spikes of warmth, seem to be happening all over.
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Thanks Gary but it is a Lune not a Haiku… anyway even the haiku in the original Japanese form is not a strict 5/7/5 syllable count. I had to really grit my teeth to wrap my head around that as I’m a hardcore rule follower! This Spring seems to be variable beyond the usual – it isn’t just Lamb vs. Lion but Godzilla vs. a bunny (and not the one from Monty Python!)
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