Ode to Winter 2007
April 15th, 2007 by Good Farmer JohnThe Winter That Wouldn’t Let Go
By The Mesko Family
As we sit here in April,
Huddled against the cold,
The winter of 2007
Is getting very old.
It started in October,
With rain and freezing temps.
The cattle braced against the sleet,
And looked like four-legged wimps.
November brought the first snow,
And we started feeding hay,
The sheep preferred to forage
Out in the pasture day after day.
The water pipes froze in December,
As the temperature dipped below zero.
“This is Minnesota,†we said
“Where the weather is as cold as Nero!â€
On the 10th of January,
Our sow went into labor,
Twelve below and shivering,
This moment she did not savor.
The white stuff began in February,
The piles they did grow,
The children dug and played and made
Houses in the snow.
We had to use the snowplow,
And sometimes it got stuck,
The pigs piled up warm and high,
And the sheep showed lots of pluck.
March is spring in most places,
With green starting to peep.
In 2007, March brought blizzards
Through which we could only sleep.
March 26th proved an odd day,
We all grinned with glee,
For the sun came out, melted the snow,
And it was 81 degrees!
Our hearts turned toward spring,
Ready to pitch the winter clothes,
But it was just a teaser,
In Minnesota, that’s how it goes.
Four inches of snow on April 10th
And taxes were soon due,
Good thing we found the mailbox
After that snowstorm was through.
Spring has sprung, it’s here for sure,
But the memory’s still fresh in our minds,
Of The Winter That Wouldn’t Let Go Of Us,
And kept us in our confines.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:55 am
Woke up to a foot of heavy snow and awfull wind this morning. This is getting old
April 16th, 2007 at 7:58 am
Same here in virginia. Went out to do chores this morning and it was snowing and there are 20-30 mph winds as well. A brutal shock to the body after 80’s.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Sounds like a winter to remember! Good job to the poet of the family.
April 16th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Gee, I almost feel guilty with sunshine, blue skies and a nice day coming again here
But then again the last two and a half weeks have been a time to remember, or should I say forget! But the mud is receding fast in the calving pasture. To JM and family, I’d like to say this is abnormal, but there’s no such thing in this neck of the woods. Anything happens is what’s normal. Wait till you see your first foot of snow around May 1st! Anyway, great poem! Living around here should inspire your family to write many more
April 16th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Strange one here below the Mason-Dixon line too. It snowed yesterday while I was fencing here in Alabama. Oh well, by the looks of things the weather’s getting back to normal here next week…..Hot and Dry!!
Good Poem, but what you need is a harmonica and a hollow back electric guitar….. Y’all might just be the blues answer to the Jackson 5.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Hey all!
Yes, this is one to remember. Oh, I can tell of worse winters. I remember in ‘80 or ‘81 we planted corn in the snow on 4/26… And who can forget the winters of ‘77-79 here in MN… They were worse, yes… Actually, it’s always worse somewhere, unless you are in Antarctica!!!
(weather today, -91F)
http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/weather/south-pole.htm
Thanks for reading the poem. It was a group effort!
JM