Winter Blizzard 2010 Baltimore – Deer are Roving

My neighbor, Phoebe Hayes, took these shots and posted them last night. All of this snow is really really tough on the animals out there trying to survive on their own.

Even the deer came out of the woods to try to find something to scrounge in the middle of the night. I’m not sure if they’re going to all make it through this amount of snow and the limits on their food supply. On the flip side, if this is what it takes to naturally cull our deer herds since they’re so overpopulated and lacking any natural predators  now… so be it. I know that sounds harsh… but I’d rather that natural (however natural these snowstorms are now… that’s another topic… hmmm… climate chaos) means help us balance ecosystem health and return our forests to less overgrazed states.

This last picture is a neighbor walking her dogs (thanks, Phoebe — again). This is kinda an illusion since the snow is actually much deeper but they’re walking on a path that’s at least a foot of compressed snow above pavement..

ah, the winter of 2010 is one that we’ll not forget too soon…

Call for Community – Blizzard 2010 or Did we know that Sustainability also implies Community?

It’s 4:45 on Monday morning and something has kicked my brain into gear on this very cold February morning. Baltimore just received upwards of 36 inches of snow two days ago and ‘paralyzed’ is the best word I know to describe my street, at least.  We have not seen any sign of a plow here. Not to mention most of the region, from what I’ve gathered. (From the internet solely – my TV digital converter box decided to die on Friday night too. Ah, the timing…)

So I lay in bed and pondered how to still my mind to return to slumber. Then my heat kicked on. Mind was already kicked on, and the heat joined it. You see, I keep my thermostat at 55º, so this house is cold.

When the heat came on, I thought of two of my friends who lost electricity in the past two days. One was without it for 24 hours, and the other for 8 hours. Both of them lost their heat in these frigid temps. I’m mighty grateful for having natural gas to heat my house. But then it struck me that I don’t even know what will happen if my electricity does go out – will this affect my furnace?

We’re supposed to get another 6 to 12 inches of snow in another day and a half. This will be on top of all that is on the ground. Is there such a word as ‘super-duper-paralyzed’? I mean, we’re talking about up to 48 inches of snow in less of a week!

But then again, one of my neighbors has a new land rover car which might, might be able to get out. I have lots of butter and munchies in my larder. Maybe another neighbor has an extra good supply of kitty litter?

What if we all got together tonight for a fun block gathering, ala trudge in the snow?  We could get our heads together to see how we could help each other make it through the next week or so until our roads are clear and we can pick up on our ‘normal’ lives.

(Is anything normal anymore though, with this climate chaos that we’re experiencing?)

So I got the brainstorm to organize a community gathering tonight. We’ve got several elderly widows in their 80’s on my block. Another older man has leukemia. We’ve all got cabin fever of various levels. And maybe someone on my block can tell me whether my heat will go off if we lose electricity.

I’m going to suggest that we keep it simple, make some tea and coffee and share some potluck snacks. We can bring a list of personal necessities in short supply for the coming few days and see if anyone has some surplus. We can tell jokes about the snow and wax poetic about its beauty. We might even get silly.

But more than anything, we’ll remember that we’re a community and we can truly behave like one. And if there is one thing about this whole concept of sustainability that does not get aired enough, it’s that sustainability also means creating community and learning to share more and listen to each other more, and be there for each other – more.

I’m looking forward to tonight. It’s going to be fun. And I’m tired of trying to entertain myself at home alone anyway. Plus, I could use some more kitty litter, soon.

Stopping by Tree on a Snowy Evening (with apologies to Robert Frost)- poem by mare

Stopping by Tree on a Snowy Evening

(with apologies to Robert Frost)

Whose tree this is, I think I know,

he lives up high in a lofty bough.

In warmer months, he makes a nest,

or is that his mate, I can only guess.

They scamper across my roof with glee,

sometimes another pest they flee.

Leaping, cavorting, agile they are,

from my bird feeders, they’re never far.

Tonight I wonder with the snow so deep,

do these furry neighbors find some sleep?

They’re probably hunkered down across,

tucked in a log covered with moss,

Awaiting the dawn and scramble for food.

Will I be in a charitable mood?

For, you see, truth is, they eat too much.

These squirrels enjoy a perpetual lunch.

My birdseed stores never last that long,

thanks to furry friends with such appetites strong.

They ravage the seeds, outcompete the birds,

no matter how much I yell out such profane words.

But this one night of such snowy cold,

I might, just might, all my stinginess fold.

And extend my stores of various bird seeds,

to meet my fellow squirrels great needs.

No Scrooge I am in sharing the trees,

the yard even, probably some fleas,

that is, my cats at times, not me’s.

So feed them, I shall, in winter’s deep freeze.

[booger on WordPress, I can't get the separate stanzas to print right here...]

by mare, blizzard 2010, Feb, baltimore

The Chimes are Still – poem by mare

the chimes are still, beyond my will

no wind, no rain. Snow! it came…

dancing, falling, flurries bawling,

whiteness floating, winter’s doting.

the chill is full, put on the wool

shovel out steps of snow’s great depths

so quiet now… Reluctant Tao.

Silence calls, over snow walls.

mare – baltimore blizzard, Feb 2010

—-

seems this surreal stillness of the night, after the snowing stopped, is rather inspiring… :~)

Rosy Snow – blizzard Baltimore 2010

What does it mean when it’s “pink sky at night” after a blizzard… other than rosy snow that no longer blows. ;~)

Winter Stillness – Blizzard Feb 2010 Baltimore

winter stillness

snow sanctum

sacred space

chimes silence

chilly warmth

inside.

- Feb 6th – winter blizzard, Baltimore

photo from my porch, words from somewhere…

mare

Good fun from Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame)

http://dingo.care2.com/cards/flash/5409/galaxy.swf

Male – Female by Lao Tse

He who is aware of the male
but keeps the female
becomes the ravine (the symbol of the female)
of the world,
he has eternal power which never fails
and returns again to innocence of the babe.

“The Book of The Tao. XXV111″

Lao Tse.

Every Child – poem by Hafiz

Every Child
by Hafiz
Every child has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don’ts,
Not the God who ever does Anything weird,
But the God who knows only four words.
And keeps repeating them, saying:
“Come Dance with Me , come dance.”

Joy – poem from The Gatha of Sang T’san

I am on a spiritual listserv called ‘allspirit’ and this morning there was a deluge of wonderful mystical poetry. So I share some here and in the next few posts. Beautiful…

“JOY”

Be warned, the slightest exercise of preference
will open a gulf as wide and as deep
as the space between heaven and earth.
If you want to encounter your Buddha Mind
don’t have opinions about anything,
opinions produce arguement,
and contentiousness is a disease of the mind.

The Gatha of Sang T’san