The North Wind Doth Blow (And There Shall Be Snow)

    

The North wind doth blow

and we shall have snow.

And what will the robin do then, poor thing?

He will sit in a barn and keep himself warm

and hide his head in his wing, poor thing!

Mother Goose was a favorite of mine growing up and sometimes phrases come to me unexpectedly!  We are experiencing snow in the South for the second time this month.  This second snow, we didn't get nearly as much snow in Georgia as they did in Louisiana or Florida! (Did you see the photos from Pensacola Beach, Fl and New Orleans, La? Wow!) Still, because we had that cold, cold air already, once the snow fell, it made our roads in the Atlanta area very dangerous. Our temps have not gotten above freezing for the past 72 hours. We are being told to stay indoors here in our county as some roads that are very icy have been closed. 

So, what to do? Why, feed the birds, of course! And enjoy their antics! And that poem about the robin being cold?  Well, I am sure you all know that birds keep themselves warm by FLUFFING up their feathers! I remember seeing a robin in England that was so puffed up, it reminded me of a tennis ball! 

Still, this cold weather makes it difficult to do our outdoor walking, so it seems that January has lasted forever. (We have walked in below freezing weather with a stiff wind upon us, and THAT is what made me think of that Mother Goose poem!)  Now, is there something that defines January going on for a very long time?  Surely there must be!

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November.

Unless a leap year is its fate

February hath twenty -eight.

All the rest hath three days more,

excepting January,

which hath six thousand,

one hundred and eighty-four.     

Ha! Isn't that funny?  I swear that would not have made me laugh any other January except this one in 2025!   The poem is by Brian Bilston and he is a Brit! Personally, I think we need to find more things to make us laugh these days.  (Or at least giggle and guffaw a bit!)  Tee hee, if you look up that poet on his website, on the "about" section, he simply states, "I write poems".  There, enough said! Here is his website:   Brian Bilston   His list of unpublished poems is pretty funny.

These are photos of the first snow we had which was much better at making a snowman!  This poor guy was melting after 2 days in the sun but I bet he looked great when he was new! It was fun to drive past all the yards with the snowmen proudly still standing! You can just imagine how much fun the kids had in making them. 

I even made a very small snowman with sunflower seeds for eyes....

Can you see that the cardinal has found the "eyes" of the snowman? "Thank you!", the female cardinal seems to be saying!

Do you need to paint something white? I think "snowman's bone" would be very white, don't you? 

                          Stay warm!  And January will be over soon! 

Hey! I wrote a post in 2017 about the most snow that I had ever seen. We drove through a blizzard in South Georgia in 1973. You may read it just  here!