THREE SEASONS IN A WEEK

 

It was a bracing walk

The sun shone brightly on the lake,

A weak autumnal sun,

Bright but un-warming

And a light wind stirred the branches

Of the leafless weeping cherry tree

And added to the chill

The familiar pair of resident ducks

Bobbed on the choppy surface

Seemingly oblivious to the cold

Mist on the distant mountains

Hinted at what was to come

By the time I pushed open my front gate

I was suitably refreshed

And glad to be home

 

That night the storm hit

A storm that began as a hurricane

Far out across the ocean

Then as it hit the land

It was merely a tropical storm

When it got to us it was just a storm

But what a storm it was

Thick black clouds turning day to night

It rained and promised to rain even more

Inches and inches of rain

Large gray drops ran down the bare trees

And splashed on the grey waters of the lake

Bouncing off the green and brown backs

Of the resilient swimming ducks

The Hurricanes remnants

Took three days to pass

And left the lake considerable deeper

. 

In the calm after the storm

We basked in the warmth

Of a bonus summers like day

Left in the tropical storms wake

The two ducks swam lazily across the still water

Bees were out looking for flowers

Ants crawled around in the grass,

Adding to their winter stock of food. 

And squirrels chattered away

As they searched for acorns and pine nuts

And ran amongst the shadows

Of the dogwood trees

A blue heron flew to the very top

Of the leafless weeping cherry tree

Doubtless lost in the storm

It spent the day recharging its batteries

And getting its bearings

Later it joined the ducks on the water

Obviously to ask directions

 

The next day summer had gone again

And autumn had returned

The day began with an overcast sky and chilly breeze

Later as I walked for a while beside the lake

It had become a warm and sunny day.

Warm of course, is a relative term

It was above freezing, just

The sun was bright; the wind light but cold

All was silent, the waters calm

A duck slept in the shadow

Of the leafless weeping cherry

The other was close by but silent

And the blue heron was perched,

Motionless, on the top of the bare dogwood

Before it launched itself

And after circling the lake once it was on its way

The squirrels were hiding

I saw no bees searching for flowers

And the ants were out of sight

 

Winter arrived yesterday

With heavy snow falling in the morning

Then the skies cleared

And the temperature plummeted

Today the landscape wass even more beautiful

And the lake was frozen

The ducks were no where to be seen

I don’t know where they go

But they always come back

The ground is crisp under foot

And it is very very cold

The squirrels were the only creatures I saw

And they were happily raiding their stores

Feasting on acorns and chasing around

I decided it was too cold for me

And headed for the fireside

Too reflect on this week’s abundance of seasons