Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “seasonal change”

26 Oct 2023
3 Comments

Oh no, that four letter word s**w


There is an unspoken rule that winter is not allowed to happen while autumn is still working on dropping leaves. And winter should hold off until November, preferably until after Thanksgiving. December is acceptable.

We all know winter doesn’t play by the rules.

Waking up to this while it’s still October set back my cheery outlook:

Insult to injury were the winds of 14+ mph all through the day. A few birds attempted to visit the feeder, like this persevering mourning dove.

Not being a winter fan (I don’t ski, walking is curtailed, and hammocking is postponed) snow is definitely a four-letter word in my realm.

Trying to recoup the day I tried to find some positives. A cozy fire was made, a cup of cocoa while I edited a manuscript, fave Pandora station in the background, a new jigsaw puzzle, and a stack of books from the library. Oh, leaf raking is on hold and the yard looks tidier with the leaves hidden by that fresh snow topping.

Okay, not so bad after all, especially since it all melted by 1 pm.

I can’t fight winter🥶

I can find ways of coping, and this winter preview made me realize that snow doesn’t have to ruin my outlook. Keep the cocoa coming and always have a few books on the ready and it will be April before I know it.

Posted in fall, humor, language, Nature, Reflections, Seasons, winter and tagged , , ,
25 Oct 2020
7 Comments

Bard Bits: Seasonal Sonnet


I tend to inundate my students with Shakespeare’s sonnets as part of our poetry unit. For one, sonnets often show up on the AP exam. For another, Shakespeare knows how to rock the sonnet. He saw what Petrarch has done with the Italian sonnet, smoothed and improved it to the point where he owns it. When someone says “sonnet” Shakespeare is what comes to mind. He tended towards taking what someone else had created and reshaped it so that it was his claim. It wasn’t plagiarism then, only genius.

This month’s Bard Bits recognizes how Shakespeare mastered the metaphor. Many of his sonnets dealt with aging out and Sonnet 73 captures the autumnal drift into winter with thoughtful reflection.

Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

Captured this photo yesterday. Mehap’s I render this to be a new season:
Finter—when the trees have not shed their leaves before the first snow falls
Posted in language, Poetry, Poets, Reflections, Shakespeare and tagged , ,
20 Nov 2018
10 Comments

Word Nerd Confessions: November


Fall has officially set up its presence. The aspen, birch, and maple trees disrobed within a week’s span with the help of couple of brisk windstorms. Temperatures hover around freezing, and the sun offers minimal light with little warmth and disappears shortly around 4 pm. The preparation for winter is underway. The Hubs threatens to put on the snow tires since black ice is fact of life not to be ignored. I understand his concern, but snow tires seems to invite or acknowledge snow. We already had a flurry of snow that had the grace to be embarrassed enough by its early arrival and leave by the next afternoon.

This month’s words reflect my ambivalence towards fall: do I mourn the passing of summer or prepare for winter with my usual reluctance? Or do I just accept it knowing spring is not that far away?

So–how do you feel about fall?

Posted in fall, Reflections, Seasons, Words and tagged , ,

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