painting by Theresa Mangis Sink
Merril is the host of dVerse today. Merril says:
For this week’s Haibun Monday, I’d like you to write a haibun about March Madness as it pertains to you and your part of the world, whether it’s spring and spring madness OR some other change of season OR perhaps the madness of a March holiday. A haibun is usually no more than three tight paragraphs followed by a traditional haiku that includes a reference to a season.
Last week’s drive back and forth to check on my son and his wife’s cats was a weather adventure each time. Sunday was a blizzard back and forth, Tuesday was a blizzard on the way there. I spent the night and drove back to freezing drizzle in 17 degree F temperatures that froze as it hit my windshield. My wipers ended up disintegrating onto the windshield. Thursday was an easy drive back and forth.
Over the weekend the sun was shining, even though the temperatures remained at about 20 degrees F. Yesterday, it warmed up enough that a few liquid drops of water were dripping from the eaves.
This morning I woke up to a blizzard, which is continuing as I type this.
March morning’s blizzard
makes the bird’s feathers ruffle
squirrels still wrestle.
Tao Talk 
What a terrible variation to go through… and those wipers disintegrating… i do remember having a rental car once and I drove from Phoenix to Colorado and found the had filled the washer fluid with plain water which froze on the windscreen…
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oh no.
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Oh no!
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Those cats are fortunate that you’re so dedicated! I can’t imagine the wipes disintegrating like that.
I can imagine the squirrels wrestling. I like to watch them hop across the snow and up a tree.
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Bae and Nancy are my fur grandbabies and they needed me. The variety of squirrels here is impressive. They go from very small reddish ones that live underground to large pudgy fox and black ones that live in the trees, with others in between. Now that the giant limb of the willow is lying on the ground, but still attached to the tree, they use it as a superhighway.
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No, I understand about the cats, but not everyone would. I worry if I’m not home to take care of mine.
That’s funny about the squirrels. :)
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Jade, that sounds like pure hell. I’d have been tempted to open a bumper bag of cat biscuit and let them help themselves. Except I couldn’t decide if you were checking up on your son as well as his wife’s cats.
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Jane, it wasn’t for the food, it was for the company. Cats act like they couldn’t care less if we were around or not, but they sure were glad to see me when I showed up for petting and brushing. My son and his wife were both out of town and those are *their* furbabies, carefully chosen by them from the shelter where we all work. I’m happy to say I’m bringing a furbaby home soon from there. Then my haibun will be about Crumpet (her name now, which may or may not change.)
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I was only joking really. I’d never be able to leave our cats to fend for themselves. They’ve just gorge themselves the first day and make themselves very sick. Crumpet is a great name for a cat. I’ve decided that the next tabby cat we get will be called Chutney.
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Chutney is a cute cat name. It’s been 20 years since having a cat for me. My ex was allergic.
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You know, I instinctively distrust people who claim to be allergic to cats :)
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lmao.
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Wow, at least you are brave enough to venture forth, and face the dreadful conditions. I’m sure the cats enjoyed your visits
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They did. I’ve been driving in winter weather for close to 45 years and refuse to be winter’s prisoner.
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My back windscreen wiper is currently disintegrating but I kept forgetting to nip somewhere to buy a new one. Safe travels if you have to make the trip again.
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The wipers are working ok, but the heat from the defroster melted some off. Hope you get your new wiper soon. Thank you for your well-wishing on the travels.
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Now that’s dedication!
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Thank Frank. Not so much dedication as a refusal to be a prisoner of winter weather. The rain in 17 degree F threw me though. Home safe and sound now, as are my son and his wife. They had to drive from Grand Rapids, MI to Cleveland last Sunday in the blizzard :(
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Whoa! Glad everyone is alright!
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You can send it down here…I would love to see snow…
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If I could, I would…..
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lol…we have the cold now….it was like 14 here this morning.
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It must be sweeping down from the arctic. It feels like winter has dug in and won’t budge. 14 is cold for you guys isn’t it. Maybe it will freeze the mud so it won’t slide.
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Yea 14 is pretty cold. It has been down to 0 occasionally.
If it’s going to be this cold I want snow…you are right…no slides…until it melts
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You don’t live at the foot of a mountain do you?
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Oh no…. there are mountains on each side but not the kind that have mud slides…
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Sounds like a beautiful place to be.
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Bless you for checking on the furbabies and for your future Crumpet. The drive must have been bad but at least you are an experienced driver! Take care. Your haiku made me smile.
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Hope you see warmer weather (and safer driving conditions) soon!
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Thank you. We’ll see what tomorrow brings…
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True March Madness! I love your haiku. Well done!
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Thank you Dwight, yes it is!
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Wore me out just thinking about it Jade – all that stress.
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Add to that stress my older son lives in the other city and drives back and forth here every day, so every day making sure he gets back and forth during the blizzards. One day they shut down the main highway so he had to take an alternate route through rural country where the roads aren’t plowed as often. I stayed on the phone with him the whole way (thru his blu tooth in the car) and watched mapquest to talk him through. He has gps on his phone but I wanted him to focus on his driving, which had bad visibility. Talk about stress!
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Oh my gosh. Let’s hope spring gets here sooner than later.
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You went through some March blizzard madness for those cats.
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exactly so.
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Oh, those drives must have been so difficult. You have brought this March madness to the forefront in such an effective manner.
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Yes they were. Thank you, Anmol. Watching the snow continue outside today is difficult also :(
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February into Mad March weather will make one crazy. GABI weather, grin-and-bear-it weather, Hold tightly to hope Jade, Spring and Dummer are coming… :-)
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Thanks Rob. GABI is a good acronym!
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Neither the squirrels nor the raccoons seem to mind this weather. (K)
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