most cottages were locked up for *****winter *****
tightly wrapped pipes -- faucets barely dripping
prevent water lines from freezing; thermostats turned down
abandoned for months for about four months
not us, sliding into an ice cold bed
covers o’er the top of me head
revel in the cold silence except for the soft rumbling
small overmatched furnace in the spare bedroom
blurry it was looking through the visqueen
on the porch that was screened
not much could be seen
grass now brown once green
put up to keep the snow out
up in the sun room -- morning sleep rudely interrupted
sun searchlight 7 am through sunroom windows (that makes sense)
never too early to start ice skating
lake frozen over, snow shovel /// clear the snow
hour or two skate on sunday morning
hockey stick in hand, puck on ice
holy experience experienced
slap of the puck against the wooden pier
clank of the puck hitting the metal support
skates slashing blades crashing
inside to warm up; hot coffee or cocoa in chicago blackhawks mug
watch football from soldier field - metropolitan stadium
later years, johnny walker red or something like that
before dark which came early
a great time for a walk to nowhere in particular
meandering down the snow packed county road before sunset
cows mooing softly in the distance... the horizon soft orange like sherbet and so promising
the cold crisp fresh air
supper waiting on the stovetop
feeling almost alone in the world
feeling like life was worth living
alas, all good things must come to an end
spring meant tourist town would be coming back to life again
dirty snow melting in little piles
cars and people milling about+++people looking for lake property
just as I had done many years ago
with ‘Day After Day’ playing on the radio
dread these Johnny-come-latelys every year now
traffic on the roads, crowds in the grocery stores, the restaurants
fourth of july fireworks
anxiously awaiting October exodus
