Something Like Frostbite

We had snow almost a month ago, but that time we all knew
that patience would make it go away, and it did.
Now, though, earth has become gray, from street to sky,
and the persistence of things north are moving in to stay.

A small jay, not usually
seen here, has come
to scout the locations
of our bird feeders,
and to poke about in
the evergreens, gauging
their protection from
the northwest wind.

Audun sent a text message this morning, and I assume that
he would laugh at our version of winter, but that is his problem:
his house is located just north of the polar circle.
I picture him, parka-protected, ear flaps down, sitting in
a lawn chair in his back yard, hunting rifle at hand, ready
to shoot the first fat reindeer that wanders into town.
When spring comes, in July, he will get up from his chair,
and go inside where Jorun will have steaming soup ready.

I engaged the hub locks on the front wheels of the pickup
this morning. It is simple things like that that signal winter.
I am ready, now, to explore ditches, and come back out.

With the right mindset,
winter is no threat.
It is simply bracing,
something like frostbite.

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