Ice crackling foot steps;
Trees lit with morning sun;
Goats enjoy breakfast.

The cow and the ram
Both want the same piece of hay;
They go head to head.

Trees full of bird sound;
(All the twitters are unseen);
Somewhere a dog barks.

Car on the driveway
Crackles on the morning ice.
Inside it is warm.

Shadows make no noise
As they fall upon the road;
The sun wears slippers.












Leaning from the bank
Sawed off tree stump still hangs on;
Its roots won't let go.








Pushed by the tree roots
Ancient rock sits on a slant.
Took a million years.

Muted gray and white
Small bird hops upon tree limb;
Knows it won't be seen.

A tiny fir tree
Grows from snow covered boulder.
How did it get there?

Balmy mist on snow;
Air is blue gray through the trees.
Insistent crow caws.

Brown patches appear;
The snow recedes for a while.
Howling in the woods.

Inside, t.v. glows;
Outside, sky is darkening;
Above, birds flurry.











Water slick on ice
Reflects dark shadows of trees--
Treacherous walking.

Neither rain nor snow,
Only dark threatening sky.
Careless cars race past.

The air grows lighter;
A patch of blue behind the trees
Breaking through the clouds.

Sprouting from the rock
Strong slender limbs of the tree
Grow persistently.












Growing together--
Trees like sister and brother;
Are they one or two?

Island in the woods;
No snow lies under the tree.
In the summer, shade.

Dark clouds under gray
Move steadily across the sky
Silhouetting trees.

Roaring from the woods
The wind bursts all around me;
Trees bend and bow.

Blinding morning sun
Splashes shadows on house
But does not thaw snow.

Sprouting from the snow
Spindly branches of the bush
Cast their own shadows.

Piled on the snow
The house gives up its refuse--
Memories thrown out.

Two black and white birds
Fluttering in the bushes
Constantly hopping.










Leaning on the tree
Precariously balanced:
Green chair in the snow.

Snow tracks far below
Disappear into the woods--
Long ago creature.

Stuck in the tree trunk
A dead leaf sticks out erect
Just pointing nowhere.









Further in the woods
Disappearing deer body;
Scavenger's delight.

Gray sky portends snow;
Now wind blows on the field;
Cars pass back and forth.

The smell of wood smoke
Curling out of the chimney
Touched my nostrils.










Single frozen drop
Hangs down from a slender branch;
Stream rushes beneath.

Forsythia branch
All brown and twisted brambles.
The buds are hiding.

Clusters of petals
Cling to the mother bush--
Once bright white, now brown.

Beneath an old tree stump
A window to the beyond:
Whiteness of more snow.

Squirrel's always hiding;
Wherever I look, he's not.
I know he is there.

Snow covers the grass
Which covers the ancient rock
Which covers the ground.












Solitary tree
Stands among the other fir--
Brown evergreen?

Sun paints the birch tree;
Bird flutters in the brambles;
Warm smell of moist hay.

Shadows on snow bank;
Black stream cutting through white--
Winter monochrome.










A fat little bird
Preens itself in the bushes,
Cares not about me.

Patches of sunshine
Fall freely upon the snow:
Casual largess.

Nestled in tree crotch
A round piece of icy white;
A snowy slingshot.












Bursting from chimney
Wood smoke catches the sunlight--
Shadows in the air.

Full Moon in Leo

Cradled by branches
Full moon rests on winter night;
Now it owns the sky.

Crisp quiet morning;
Just electric meter hums.
Then, a flock of birds.

Surrounded by snow,
Stone Buddha meditating.
Is he shivering?

Sunlight seems frozen;
Still shadows fall on the snow.
There is no motion.

There are no creatures;
Even the birds are quiet.
Squirrel leaps from a roof.

Solitary crow
Caws across the frozen sky.
There is no response.

Footprints in the snow
Fading--growing indistinct;
Frozen memories.












Translucent and green--
Fir tree in the winter sun,
Glowingly alive.

Single red berries
Hang from the bramble bushes;
Lonely coloring.

Everything's frozen--
Solid snow covers car windows;
White field like a rock.

A black dog barks past;
Rolling in the quiet car.
It's just a puppy.

Even slush is hard:
Gray dirt sprinkles are frozen--
Invisible tableau.

High on the dead tree
Line shines through the old brown trunk:
Mystery portal.











A hand lettered sign:
"Ice Fishing Derby" today.
Where can the fish hide?

Encrusted with ice
Bird's nest is covered with snow.
Memory of chicks.

My dog friend Bella
Comes wriggling to greet me;
Leaves her mark in snow.









Shadows on the snow
Sharpen with the fleeting sun.
Here for a second.

Sun falls on the snow;
Barn is lit up and glowing;
Warm smell of manure.

Two birds circling,
Chasing each other crying.
What are they saying?

The sun softens all,
Painting the world with light strokes;
Even trash looks good.

The ancient mailbox,
Topped with a thick cap of snow
Glowing in the sun.

Stomping behind me
The jogging jogger jogs past
Gulping icy air.

Tapping in the woods:
Small pieces of ice shatter--
Splat! Right on this page!

Long tree shadows fall
Stretching out upon the snow;
Then a puff of white.

Weighed down by whiteness
Fir trees bow down their branches.
Coyotes howling.

From the dark barn door
Cow walks gingerly in snow,
Then promptly turns back.









Softly, gracefully
Large white clumps fall to the ground--
All sight and no sound.

Woods are deserted;
There is only falling snow--
Blanket of silence.

The fat U.P.S. truck
Meets the giant snow plow.
Which one will give way?

Together, heads bowed
Cluster of tree snow statues--
Natural sculpture.












It is a dish now:
Shelf fungus catches the snow
And serves up whiteness.

Rumble far away;
Train whistle cuts through the snow
Tearing the silence.

Buried by the snow:
Dead, ripped and twisted creature
Almost out of sight.