waiting for the first snowflakes

 

leaves

red, yellow, and orange

have long since gone

 

grass has turned brown

 

frost has covered the land

 

afternoon sun is low

in the southern sky

 

geese have flown

in the blue heavens

south for winter food

 

squirrels gathered

nuts and stored

them in their nest high in the trees

 

next-door neighbor

tuned his snowblower

ready to take on a fierce winter

 

and I sit by my fireplace

with a good book and a cup of hot coffee

 

waiting for the first magical snow

flakes to start falling

 

so I can again smile

like I did when the first snowflakes

fell in our yard all those many years ago