Early Vernal Transformations

 

March is notorious
mixed weather month
swinging wide and wild
between winter and spring
promise 

Waters rush on balmy days
mild air wafts
dancing hair and caressing skin
then whoosh
the day or night turns
icy and unrelaxing
chill gusts swirl
the land and waters harden
again 

Harbinger of change
this year of acceleration
a sleek black fisher cat lopes
across white crusted snow
behind the red shed
and onward toward the wood 

Rare sighting of this undulating
smooth secretive marten
minding its own business
sticks with and thrills the Widow Wyile
noteworthy sign
as was the mole
wandering comfortably in the garage 

As usual the deer amble along
the fauna byways that cross
the land she lives upon
        pausing
to assess any sudden human
appearances   the turning on of lights
allow for interactive gazing
or dash away
            spooked
by movements within
or without the house 

In the snow   ice   or mud
as the case may be
lie the prints
of dexterous raccoon hands
who also mostly travel
under cover
of night 

One day the driveway is a raised
compacted accumulation
of all manners of precipitation
the next it is a mirror of ice
                bumpy and substantial
then along comes a driving rain
washing away whites and greys
leaving springy ground
browns and greens
pools of water
and lo, the snowdrops are up!
the game of cover
un-cover is on
there the first crocuses
and lily tips already here
a sudden switch
all is dusted in powder
or wet snow
then not 

Chickadees flit about
by the house
inspecting with friendly curiosity
and that activity yonder by the trees
                yes!
portly red bellies and breasts
        robins are back
busily turning leaf after leaf
determined beaks
seeking sustenance 

Stands of birch glow coppery
red at their fine crowns
willows shine golden
shimmering qualities of growing
spring light fill air and sky 

All these
and more
grounding observations
are quiet quotidian doings
in Ma Nature’s circular
and ever spiraling calendar
awaiting our attention and appreciation
but carrying on nonetheless