How Cold Is It?
Grandad and I
stood on deck
Antarctica 91
Icebergs ringed our spot
penguins checked us out
Warm, summer, you see,
at zero or there abouts….
Fluffy the cat
with two inches plus
of thick luxurious fur
prefers the outside
instead of my shop
heated to 45
Enter me
bundled to nines
toes and fingers still cold
as I climb a ladder
to check a bin
breath blowing fog
eyeglasses steamed
Starting a truck
uh, uh, uh,
kerboom!
Ker chug chug chug
It spits and coughs
then evens out
but starting, none the less
Then there’s big diesels
oil like tar
fuel at risk of jelling
that just wait for spring
or warmer days
No problem sitting quiet
I remember times
we milked some cows
early morning and evening chores
I sat on a stool
and milked away
my head warming from the flank
and my hands warmed by teats like toast!
The milk steamed
in the ice cold pail
as I carried two to the house
The basement was warm
from a giant coal furnace
as Grandma ‘separated’ cream
We had an axe
we chopped the ice
from the horse tank every morning
Then the cows drank deeply
40 gallons per daily
amazing to see them slurp!
One time in economizing
grandpa got some hay
spoiled, useless, some fellow thought
so grandpa got it free
We heated water
and heated sorghum
mixing the two together
then poured it on
the nasty hay
and watched the cattle woof it!
Problem was
our pants got stiff!
Would stand up in the basement
without us in them!
Ever walk
in frozen pants
and hear them crack and crackle?
when cold winds blew
and snow became a blizzard
The sheep were lambing
so I went
to help them through their labor
I couldn’t see
a hundred feet
or even 15 maybe
I hung on to
the pasture fence
to go and find the barn
Once inside
it seemed so toastie
and lambs were born somehow
I helped the mamas
dry them off
then watched the lambs stand up
BAAAAAAAA
(Momma!)
(I’m hungry! Really I am!)
Amazing what can happen
Reminds me of
another story
when settlers first had houses
Grandma served
as a neighborhood deliverer
more common than a doctor
Reifstecks’s lived
across the section
their house a rough affair
One winter day,
a baby came
to a cold, cold room
blankets catching snow
but still he came
that little fellow
who lived to 79!
Again amazing
how we cope
What good’s the cold
you well might wonder now?
It kills the bugs
that eat our crops
and kills the funji
that would kill plants too
For that we must give thanks!
Cold’s a blessing
can’t you see?
So hunker down and dream
of springtime sun
and summer breezes
they’ll soon be on their way
We’ve turned a corner
(winter solstice)
so days will start to linger
each day longer
into summer
just hang on!
The weather’ll change
in just another slumber !
Lin, 12/08
Think “Global Warming’!
Summer Frost
is shining down on me
It’s my last day of planting
and I’m thinking about frost!
Why would I do that
on such a warm sunny day?
Ah, the years have taught me well
in sometimes cruel, sometimes harsh ways
Be ready for weather
surprise is up nature’s sleeves
I’ve been there! Seen that!
September frost does happen….
Back in ’74
or there abouts I think
just south the house
stood a fine field of beans
chest high, record yielding, I thought
Evening on the patio
I gazed across the field
the breezes waved the field
like on some distant shore
Maybe best ever, I thought,
then turned away to suppers call
and time to play with kids
then a cold front passed through
dawn I looked again
frost sparkled like diamonds
on the sea of emerald green
As the hours passed
the color darkened
and darkened more
until the whole field was black!
Arrested! Killed! the plants were dead!
From sixty bushels to six
in those few hours happened
Money all spent
on seed and fuel and machines
my year’s pay shrunk
my wallet very flat
We study and we plan
to maximize returns
then we gamble
trust, some say,
and plant another crop
It’s all part
of the farming adventure
not for weak of heart!
Like the Shakers
our hands we give to work
and hearts we give to God
For we are so small
and get reminders
this is earth, not heaven!
Perfection’s not for here
but there is a place
awaiting us
the choice is ours to make…
Lin 06/08
Planting Time
is a thing of beauty
Rich soil combed
in rows so straight
a blanket of seeds
just beneath the surface
Soon the sprout
will break the surface
drinking in the sunshine
Roots branching
winding a finding their ways deeper
drawing water and nourishment
the crop is growing
A hungry world is watching
Oh come, harvest come!
Feed the nations!
One more time!
Selah, Lin 06/08
Dancing with the Wind
to lead down strange paths
Where our minds work on ice
slipping and sliding on slippery slopes
Awake, but not really,
connecting dots is hard
needles come and go
tv’s show their paths
moving in very private places
Nurses pay us tention
knowing what to do
and when
and why
and where
and then
Doctors pop in and out
Stars of stage and screens
Skills hard to imagine
in their hands and brains
Tools hard to imagine
extend their reach
harm us less
and speed the way to recovery
mysteries abound
that healing can occur
in ways undreamed til now
and yet there’s more to come
But for now
we’ll say our thanks
and do our best
to do as doctors say
Life is precious
we know
even more
we know
Lin, to Andy, post op 03/08
From See to Shining See
out standing in a field
What I see amazes me
amazes me
What was, just weeks ago,
winters’ spoilage covering
the browns and tans and grays
has come to be another color
speaking growth and life and promise.
As far as I can see
a blanket of greens has covered
the fields we farmers plant
The early morning dew
the bright and shining sun
make a sparkling, shining sea
of maize and soybeans growing.
Gentle breezes blowing
cause the leaves to wave
Oh, what promise is showing
of what there is to come
this blanket will have run its course
a hidden switch will throw
and back to browns and tans we’ll go
the harvest will begin.
Where one tiny seed was planted
the tall corn plant will be
five hundred seeds will wait
to be food, fibre, fuel
For now it is for us to pleasure
to see what God has done
We tilled and planted sure
but God created life
Tiny seed, tiny egg
with amazing living potential
Will we plant them
Will we let them grow
Care for them
Love them
Days of Rain
yet the grass
is springtime lush
fresh mowed lawns
look e’er so new
and yet I know
around the corner
a cold wind comes our way
so saw the firewood
keep it dry
for the day that’s coming
We see so dimly
take a seed
that looks so plain and lifeless
a handful, a sackful, not impressive
just lying there so lifeless
like the soil
our present eyes
see not beneath
the covers
there’s life therein, you see
waiting for us to discover
whether towering oak
or fields of corn
the seeds are tied together
deep inside
the genes have codes
that fit together neatly
bring together
circumstances
and life bursts forth
long ago
the wisest man instructed
“Be born again”
a silly thing to utter
Yet He knew
the codes yet secret
the mysteries deep inside
a seed…
…and me
waiting to be discovered
Grass and seeds and me
all bound together somehow
we’re digging deeper, higher, wider
all a seeming struggle
the picture still a window
shadowed, but growing brighter
Some day, the Good Book says
we’ll suddenly see clearly
this I understand
November 04 Lin