Winter Lust

Winter Lust

Winter’s cottony cloak gently drapes the ground,

Slowing Mother Earth’s heart to a sluggish waltz beat,

Cooling her hardened skin, frozen in endless time,

Stunting all growth as if in agonizing defeat.

This icy wrap she wears, it clings so lovingly;

How frigid is Mother Earth, unrelentingly in her claim

That she owns this frozen land and everything within,

And possesses calm reserve despite Winter’s pain.

The snow drifts and icicles form, suspended in time,

The breath and teardrops of Mother Earth’s last stand

Before Winter smothers her final weeping breath

And silent cries spread across the glacial land.

Unyielding of her riches buried far beneath the soil,

Mother Earth sighs, her time will come once more to reign.

In the thaw of springtime, freedom comes full circle,

She emerges victorious…at least ‘til Winter’s lust begins again.

~*~

©2009 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Preparing for winter hibernation

As a writer, I have two main times of the year where I go into a sort of "hibernation mode", one in the winter and one in the summer. During these times I like to focus mainly on writing, so it's a time I really look forward to.

Winter in Edmonton can get quite cold, as some of you may know, and sometimes we get a good dump of snow, the kind you don't want to drive in. In past years my winter hibernation usually ran from January to the end of March, and the summer would run June to the end of August. These can be slower months for book signing events too, so it makes it prime for hibernating.

This year since I didn't have a new book out to promote, I'm able to go into hibernation mode early. It'll start later this month through to March, coming out for just a handful of events, and of course I'll continue blogging, but probably not quite as often.

For my winter hibernation I have to prepare ahead of time, and these are the things I'll be "storing":

• Chai tea mix (hot for winter, cold for summer)
• white hot chocolate mix
• apple cider that I'll heat up
• bread and cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches
• lots of coffee, flavored and Tim Hortons
• towels for when I take breaks in my hot tub--yes, even when I'm surrounded by snow
• lots of books--my to-be-read pile never seems to go down much
• my seat cushion that has heat and massage modes
• my Starbucks card for when I just need to get out
• and of course, my laptop

What do you do to prepare for the winter? :)

Is there anything special you store or crave? What do you eat or drink that is a winter treat?

P.S. Happy new president day to all my wonderful American friends and fans!

~Cheryl Kaye Tardif,

author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention

http://www.cherylktardif.com/