By Rod Schmidt – The Plum Creek Naturalist (1989)
Just because the Robins have left…
It doesn’t mean winter has to appear.
So what if all but Red Oak leaves have dropped,
The almanac says the shortest day still is not here.
But then that fat Woodchuck…
You’re right, I haven’t seen him for a while.
Instead of simply hibernating,
Perhaps he’s met a vixen’s guile.
The first snows have come and gone,
But this last one still is here.
Was yesterday’s migrating Mallard flock the last?
Okay, wintertime is drawing near.
First it’s frozen, then it’s open,
the fickle lake just can’t decide.
Yesterday I walked on water,
But I still can’t make those waters divide.
Now that the Tree Sparrows
Have descended from the North,
Some say it’s another sign…
That winter will soon spring forth.
Longspurs, Buntings, and Horned Larks
in unison agree,
that the temperature has dropped
a considerable degree.
Then there’s the Jackrabbit,
sure enough he’s turning white.
But I haven’t dug all my taters yet,
I’m not ready for winter’s bite.
Most bucks and does
Have seduced their mate.
But the greater challenge has begun
of evading a hunter’s fate.
Tis the season
Of snoozing gophers.
But the Fox Squirrels
remain dashing jokers.
With iced-over beard
the signs are clear,
a taste of winter
already is here.
Rodney Schmidt Legacy 