Well, for us it is fireplace weather, 42 degrees and misting rain. However, most of us in this area have no fireplaces. If we do they are only for decoration and the occasional day when a fire could be tolerated without running the air conditioner at the same time. I have an entertainment center where the fireplace would be in a home built further north. I purchased a DVD at Christmas that mimicks a roaring wood fire with all the appropriate sound effects, and an option to play soft relaxing music while you watch it. If the day stays dreary, I may use it. Last night my wife Barbara, and I went to a concert of Americana music performed by a group of women who call themselves the Misty River Band. http://www.mistyriverband.comWe had a wonderful time with all our visitors from the frozen northlands who choose to winter with us. I don't have many winter poems, but I have written one or two.COLD AIR
Through the half open window
cold air intrudes,
mixes in rivulets,
changes my mood.
WINTER
Autumn’s colored splendor fades away.
It’s coming; I hear the north wind’s song.
Bare branches stand against a canvas gray.
Days shorten; nights become too long.
Cool, crisp, sharp, raw, blue.
Varied harshness marks its passing here.
Weak ones sometimes do not make it through.
At times, it also brings the strongest fear.
Blinding brightness – Snow is on the ground.
Icy crystals bend the straining bough.
Silence broken by its tinkling sound.
Surreal, it manifests its beauty now.
The rudeness of its entrance dims at last.
Warming gentle breezes bathe, heal.
God’s paints upon this dismal scene are cast.
From dormancy, a new life to reveal.
