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Monday, March 17, 2014

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

We woke up to a covering of snow this morning.  As always, it is beautiful!  But, after the warm weather we had last week and the discovery of daffodils pushing through the earth, the snow seems out of place this mid-March morning!  So I was delighted to discover Sarah's blog post (in Dorset, England) and be regaled with photos of daffodils and a poem by William Wordsworth.  Sarah asked her readers if we had a favorite childhood poem.  I'd have to say mine would be Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:



Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,   
And miles to go before I sleep.




Susan Jeffers has illustrated a beautiful 
children's book of this poem....


If you, too, need a dose of daffodils, be sure to visit Sarah's post A Host of Golden Daffodils.

16 comments:

  1. Robert Frost's poem is quite apropro for this day. My daffodils are just about to open their lovely flowers on the south side of our home. I do believe they will have to wait for warmer days. Winter is not finished with us yet. I personally don't remember a snow this late in the season. As lovely as it is, it seems out of place. Enjoy the cozy day inside by the fire if you can. ♥

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    1. That's exactly how I feel--the snow is out of place! I spent 3 days last week scouring our small woods for downed branches, putting them in piles for when the tree people come to chop them into woodchips. I went over every square foot of the land and it seems strange to see it covered in snow now!

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  2. What a great post! Thanks! And I did enjoy Sarah's daffodils. No snow here, only sleet and cold rain,

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    1. Sarah's daffodils were a breath of fresh (warm) air for me. The sun has finally come out this afternoon and I'm busy taking down my winter decor and putting up the Spring decor. If I don't look outside, it feels like Spring because of the sun. I told Ken that maybe if I put my snowman tree away it'll finally quit snowing.

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  3. I LOVE "Stopping by Woods' - I even have a hardcover illustrated book of it that I display in my living room every year from Thanksgiving until right about now. I'm doing the same as you Cathy - boxing up my Winter decor and happily putting out the Spring. And after the Winter of 2014, the Spring things have never been more welcome! Here's one of my absolute favorite poems from my teaching days, and a bit of a riddle. I'd have the children try to guess what the "white sheep" really were, and every year at least one child figured it out. This one is a great poem for March.

    White sheep, white sheep
    On a blue hill
    When the wind stops
    You all stand still.

    When the wind blows
    You walk away slow,
    White sheep, white sheep,
    Where do you go?

    'Clouds' by Christina Rossetti

    Have a great week!

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    1. That is a great poem! And I must admit I did not guess it.....were your students more adept than I? And I am surprised that I didn't because I just wrote about clouds on my other Blog! I have several illustrated children's books of Robert Frost's poem. I'm either going to do another post about Robert Frost or add them to the bottom of this post. I got my Spring decor put up yesterday, except for the front porch--too cold to be outside right now! Will do a post about that once I'm done. It looks like Spring will actually arrive on her due date later this week :-). Snow is already melting today. How about up your way?

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    2. Gee, I just realized the book I have of "Stopping..." IS the Susan Jeffers book. Duh, Janet. I'm going to give some more time to think about what the "white sheep" really are - with your poetic sensibilities it's going to pop right into your head at some point. Just read it over a few times, maybe even say it aloud and very slowly. When it comes to you, you'll smack yourself in the forehead! PS - any sign of your little granddaughter yet?

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    3. Actually Janet, I did figure it out once I got to the bottom of your comment and saw the title of the poem....Clouds! :-) No sign yet of our new little lamb! She's due a week from next Monday, but every time the phone rings I think "Am I a grandmother?" We get about 3 telemarketer/political/scam calls every day it seems (and we're on the DO NOT CALL list!) so I've been on alert since Monday. Maybe I should just keep these people on the line while I tell them about what's going on in my life right now and how every time they call me they send my heart racing. I checked on-line and found the baby can be born 2 weeks early and still be considered "done" :-). We'll have to see how impatient this child is going to be since there's an impatient ancestor in her lineage!

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    4. I knew you'd get it. And another "Duh" for me. I shouldn't have included the title, should I? I never told the kids - why did I include it now? Senior moment I guess. Haha! Hey, I know what you mean - I'm on the Do Not Call list too, but I still hear from the telemarketers as well. I love the idea of you blathering away to them about your situation - very Jerry Seinfeld of you - but heck, THEY never seem to spare us much. So turn about IS fair play! LOL. Do you have to travel far to see her once she finally gets here?

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    5. I haven't had a "live" person call yet and I haven't wanted to wait until the end of the recording to get a real person. As we get closer to the due date maybe I will. :-) It's an hour and 20 minute drive. The baby will be rooming in so we won't be able to see her until our DIL feels up to having company. Her parents are just 20 more minutes beyond us so they'll want to see her, too.

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    6. Hope you'll get a photo you can share with us before you leave to see the new little pudder in person! And all vital statistics too - height, weight, hair [no hair] etc. How exciting for you! My mom said what always threw her for a loop - every time she became a grandmother - was seeing one of her own babies in "parent mode." Weirded her out a little but she loved it and LOVED being a Gramma! Bestest of wishes!

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    7. Janet, I'll post a photo as soon as I get one. That's what I'm looking forward to just as much--seeing my son with his daughter!

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  4. I went to her post and enjoyed immensely. The lovely daffs are cheerfully greeting Spring everywhere! We see them from our window blanketing the meadow and stream side. What jolly little troopers leading the way for all the other flowers to follow! I am happy to report that here in East Tn, our Spring has Sprung!

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    1. I'm so glad you visited Sarah's site. She always has such lovely photographs of Dorset. I am still waiting patiently here for Spring. Still have a covering of snow from yesterday's deluge....but Thursday and Friday should take it all away and Spring can begin!

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  5. Thank you for the link to my post Cathy. I loved your poem, your video went so well with it too.
    Sarah x

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    1. I think your post is so great that I want more people to see it! It's inspired me to include the daffodil poem in my next Poetry & Gabriel story when P&G move to the Lake District.

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