Two more poems

The first is one I just kinda threw together this morning:

Crystals glint in sun
Diamonds hang in branches near
Oh!  It's winter's gems!

The second I did while snowshoeing

brittle leaves rattle
the bells of painted warrior
dancing round a fire

Haiku trio

Last night, my snowshoe walk in the falling snow in the dark inspired poetry in me !!

diamonds glitter bright
float and so softly blanket
cold but somehow warm

woods oh so silent
yet talk to me this night time
tracks! broke limbs! lone pine!

porch light beckons me
come sit by fireplace with tea
snow shoes off, come in

I know the third stanza in the trio really breaks from traditional, but since I am not Japanese, I figure I can get away with it.
I love Haiku so much !!!

Was looking for exercise....found a complete passion.....

Yesterday, the thermometer read 8 below zero.  I think the wind chill was somewhere around 20 below.  Dressing to go out and do chores and then snow shoe takes a little bit of thought and care.  Long johns and wind pants on bottom, two shirts and a thermal lined hoodie on top.  Thermal socks, wool mad bomber hat, insulated gloves, polar fleece face/neck warmer complete the wardrobe.
The goal is to limit surface exposed to the air, but not to dress so warmly that you get uncomfortable once you start working up a good sweat.  That is why there was no winter coat.
Did chores, then put the dogs in the warm house and headed out on the trail.  The first section of trail passes through a horse pasture where there is no wind break.  The brisk winds were blowing up little snow devils throughout the field.  This section is only about 300-400ft long, with beautiful scenery, but seems longer with the bitter cold wind. 
Once I enter the woods, there is a huge difference in the feel of the air.  The thick spruce and birch to the north of me and the maple forest to the south give me a feeling of warmth and protection. 
I meander through the spruce trees and into the maple forest.  I love this section of trail.  In the summer, I decorate it with gnomes, fairies, tree faces and other assorted critters much to the delight of my grandkids.  In the winter, there are a few tree faces to be seen, but the scenery is the dark brown of the maple bark against the stark white snow. 

I circle the maples, eventually coming back to the spruce section of trail.  All along the way, chickadees talk to me, lighting on low branches and singing "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" at me.   Rabbit tracks, deer tracks, fox tracks and occasionally, wolf tracks are abundant in the woods - I love looking at the tracks and figuring out what came by, which direction they were going and what kind of path they took - foxes like to zig-zag around - I imagine they are sniffing branches and such.   Deer mostly go straight from point A to point B, while bunnies seem to zig around aimlessly.
By the time I have come back to the spruce trail, I am thoroughly warm from the inside out.  I have pushed the now wet face warmer down off of my face, and am feeling overdressed as I sweat along.
When I hit the pasture again, the cold wind and the snow devils now feel good.  I have did about 1/2 an hour of intense exercise, but it didn't feel like exercise.   Not too bad for an overweight grandma. The soul-renewing outting is the highlight of my day every day.  I started out just looking for a way to get outside and get some exercise and discovered an absolute passion.  I imagine I will be snow shoeing the rest of my life.
Any of you who are interested in snow shoeing, I urge you to try it.  You don't have to have your own trail to do it or even live in the country.  If you live in an area with snow in the winter, try a state park, or hiking trail.  It is easier for beginners, out of shape folks and older people to go on an already packed trail.  I use the snowmobile to pack my trail down every time it snows.  It is much easier on my knees that way, but still plenty of exercise !!

2011 Resolutions !!

So, I decided to put my New Years resolutions up here, for the world to see !!  Maybe they will be harder to break if I make them public !!

1) Eat more natural foods, less processed
2) Keep up doing 30min hard cardio a day and strength training 3 days a week
3) Start reading One Year Bible
4) Finish setting up my rental cabins
5) Increase my volunteer hours every month

Now, at first glance, res. no. 1 doesn't seem that hard.  I already eat alot of natural foods and not a whole lot of processed.  But, being on Weight Watchers and tracking what I eat has shown me I can do better !!  I started this off by a little grocery shopping - I bought all my produce and I also made a trip to a quaint little store not far from here that buys Amish whole foods in bulk.  I was able to get some 7 grain cereal, wildflower honey, fresh ground peanut butter (with no added oils or sugar) and some fresh ground cinnamon.  Step two is to take part of a day off every week and prepare some food so it is easier to fix a good, healthy meal on days when I am bogged down with work, school, farm chores, etc.  Today, I am making some brown rice, whole wheat pasta, roasted veggies, roasted chicken breast (had it cooking in the crock pot all night) and cereal to portion and freeze.  YAY !!  Now, when you see me 2 months from now, ask how it is going - keep me on track !!
Res. no. 2 will be hard to keep when school classes start back up.  I have been snow shoeing 30min a day, every day.  This means strapping on a head lamp and tromping through the woods at night some times.  It rained here one day (awful for Dec in Minn), I didn't get home till dark and it would have been the perfect excuse NOT to go, but I did go that night and it was gorgeous - the headlamp cut a nice glow through the fog and rain.  Once the snow is gone, I will again return to riding bike.  Resistance training consists of a full body workout on the Body by Jake.  Remind me to stick to my routines !!
Res no 3 will be kind of fun - I bought the One Year Bible book last year, but since the days are marked in it figured it would be easier to do starting the first.  Cory is going to read, too - so we start tonight !!
Res no 4 is an important one.  I have two cabins here - a 16X16 one room and a 16X24 one bedroom.  Both are fully finished by need a few touches here and there.  The bigger one has to be set up (it sits on cribbing in my pasture for now).  Renting them out will enable me to cut back on work hours next year when my nursing classes start and I will no longer be able to work as much.
And last but not least, in the last few years, volunteering my time has gotten pushed aside.  I will once again put my time into Relay for Life and also continue volunteering with the elderly - I started that for a service project in my Psychology class and really enjoyed it.  I am thinking I will let the organisation (North Shore Area Partners) know that I would love to spend my hours helping the elderly people keep their pets - I can help care for them, take them in if they have to be hospitalised.  I am thinking it might enable a pet loving elderly person to keep their beloved dog or cat that the family can't help them care for and they are no longer able to.

Alright peeps - keep me in line !