February 13: Prepared

We can't go a week anymore without another huge snowstorm rolling through, so you'd think people would be stocked up and prepared at this point. Friday night is usually a good time to hit the grocery store, but tonight, two nights before the storm, a lot of shelves were picked clean.

 

Storm preparations--

water, chips, frozen pizza,

always some need to meet.

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February 12: Food Network

One of our winter entertainments:

 

We eat burritos

watching chefs on tv

bake exotic desserts.

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February 10: Bean-Throwing

In my Beginner's Japanese class tonight we learned about Setsubun, the Bean-Throwing Cermony held as part of the annual Spring Festival on February 3, the eve of spring in Japan. The ritual, called mamemaki, is supposed to drive away evil spirits from the year ahead. There was no little irony in imitating the ritual with our teacher by tossing beans outside the door into three feet of snow. If only it were really the cusp of spring here.

 

What you say:

Oni wa soto (demons outside)

Fuku wa uchi (happiness inside)

 

Beans tossed into snow--

if only this ritual

could conjure spring.

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February 9: Headache

Crow flies in a white sky,
wings slowly flapping.
My head hurts.

February 8: US Toboggan Championships

Today was the last day of the US Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl. Despite the low temperatures, the tobogganers were lively in the chute, food was hearty, and we left smelling of woodsmoke.

 

At the toboggan races

eating egg sandwiches

around the fire pit

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February 7: Five degrees

Anticipating moonrise
the plumes of my breath
obscure Jupiter

February 6: Life imitating art

One of my favorite art genres is the 19th century Japanese woodblock print (ukiyo-e). Shoveling out after this latest in a long series of generous snowstorms, I was surprised to find I still possess any capacity for finding beauty in this absurdly snowy landscape.

A Japanese print--
snow-laden willow arching
over my driveway.

February 5: Bird flurry

Flurry of siskins

flocks the snowy feeder--

a bright storm of birds.

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February 4: Winter state of mind

What's going through the mind
of the huddled dove
unmoving in the sun?

February 3: Heard on the street

I thought a raven called
but it was children playing
in the snowy street.

February 2: Morning Meditation 6

In this morning's guided meditation for Winter Feast for the Soul, Tibetan monk Anam Thubten described how in a certain meditative state we feel "empty inside in a beautiful way." I couldn't help but think of Wallace Stevens's poem The Snow Man, which is referenced in line two below.

More snow falling.
It takes a mind of winter
to simply watch it fall.