"The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It’s a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you’ve got in as many supplies as you can. It’s nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst. They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won’t find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth and your solitude, for you have had foresight". ~Tove Jansson, Moominvalley in November
I must prepare...fall is barely hanging on, and winter is looming. How do you prepare yourself mentally for the cold days of December through March? I always need to brace myself, to surround myself with creative things that occupy me and keep my winter melancholy in control. Exercise is key, and laughter! Thank God for my sense of humor...funny, lighthearted things always boost my spirits.
TEA FOR TWO
Oh Lord, have mercy on me
That wicked melancholy
I fear she fancies me
Every fall she shows up
On my doorstep
Inviting herself to tea
Drawing my curtains
So no one else can see
Removing her white gloves
With practiced delicacy
Her shrewd, ruby lipstick
Staining my tea cups
With no apology.
© Sherri Brannon
Love your photo and your thoughts. I actually like some of these aspects of winter, as i seem to allow myself more time for reflection and introspection during these dark and uninviting days.
ReplyDeleteSuch a peaceful..beautiful winter scene and image. Love your accompanying thoughts...
ReplyDeleteI am hoping we get cooler weather this year. The past 3 years in Florida were warm, hardly one cold day... So aside from a few sweaters and the occasional boots (when it is 70 degrees outside like a good Floridian) not much really ;-)
ReplyDeleteGosh melancholy is such an unwelcome visitor.. I agree with you :)
ReplyDeleteI love the quote you shared.. a beautiful way of looking at winter. Makes me feel positive.
Hope you have a great week ahead.
Love that poem Sherri! Yes, she stains my tea cups as well, and it doesn't even snow here! It does at times get cold, not cold like when I lived in Chicago (well, occasionally) but the short days and lack of beach time get to me.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful blog post - I love your thoughts/poetry on melancholy - you've expressed it so beautifully. A wonderful photo too. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog earlier - it's very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is I save all my "inside" activities for the winter, and then last year we hardly had a winter so none of those inside things got done,,,maybe this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's already been cold where I live for a month - and now it's going to get reallllyyy cold. Brr! My plan: I just booked myself a trip to Tucson for a week at the end of January!
ReplyDeleteMarvelous poem, Sherri, a perfect portrait of the unwanted guest of winter. I always have so much work to do on the computer that being inside doesn't' bother me so much. But the darkness does. Planning our trips for later in the year is a great diversion!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a season that is much brighter than you can imagine!