all summer we shovel heat
scrape humidity
icing our drinks
as we huddle close around
the fan
now
at last
phoebe
and the buffleheads
have returned
from the edges of the arctic
to cheer us
with news that a light
sweater might be needed
© Jilly’s All Rights Reserved
De is hosting the Quadrille at dVerse this week; come and raise a toast with us as we enter a season of cheer!
It occurs to me that Phoebe and the Buffleheads would be a great name for a rock band, but in reality, these are two of the birds that winter here in Central Florida. It is a seasonal milestone when each of these species arrive; one for which there is much rejoicing in the land 🙂
Jilly's 
Oh, Jilly. I simply LOVE this. Brilliant, really, in just 44 words. Love it.
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It sounds like sweaters are not obsolete in Florida. I like shoveling heat and huddling near the fan.
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This is (was) in Southern Nevada, Frank. 😉 We are actually getting a nice chill in the air this week. I like it. Makes me feel more Christmassy.
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It must be as cold there as in Chicago. Thank you, De!
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Thanks! I like shoveling heat myself, but summers are long here. We liken our summers to your winters, which means that the best time of year is now!
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We are huddling close to the fireplace… and many sweaters are required… but happy for you 🙂
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All summer we stay inside because of the oppressive heat – flip-flopped seasons, so to speak.
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Winter comes in on little cat feet here in the Pac NW; smile. I went with the rock band imagery, and it still works well.
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I love bird names – especially ones that are unusual like Phoebe and the Buffleheads – I agree that would make a great name for a band, Jill. I was, for a short while, a member of Sylvia and the Peppermints in my early teens!
I also like the change from heat and humidity to ‘edges of the arctic’, which means I can wear my cosy new cardigan!
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In Orlando we are thrilled when it drops below 70 (21C) and we can wear out boots and jackets! We have terribly thin blood down here – it’s pathetic. Love the thought of you being a Peppermint 🙂
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“scrape humidity” – brilliant visuals. I like the sound of your winter migrant band!
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Thanks! I like them, too, but they sound like they have sore (soar) throats – quack and rasp!
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I like the way you flip the script on the temperatures. Also appreciate someone else who gets their weather report directly from the source — nature.
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Flipping the script! Exactly! When I was a kid in Michigan, we out-forecasted the forecasters by watching the bird feeder. The cardinals are beefing up, better go get milk and bread 😉
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I must admit I was expecting a rock band. Birds are better.
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Such gorgeous visuals in this! ❤
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Like the inversion of heat and snow scenarios Jilly. Very cool! …I think I have their album… 😉
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In vinyl, no less!
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Love what you’ve done here – mixing the seasons – and the birds! Love the birds.
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Thanks! I love them, too; they are great conversationalists 😉
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They are!
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oh dear. this is adorable! shovelling heat is such a creative phrase!
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Better than shoveling snow, but the heat is just as oppressive as the cold. Thanks for reading!
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uh so true! 😀
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You are one of the few people I know who tells time and the seasons by nature. I think that makes you one of the sane ones! (no offense!) A great reendering, in short-rationed verse, of what it’s like to live down here. Cabin fever, in negative.
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Yep! Cabin-fever all summer long.
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This is really wonderful. Phoebe and the Buffleheads, rock on!
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I love how you started with a relation of the Summer and Winter.
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Thanks! Summer’s in the sub-tropics are like winters in the north; we stay inside, but we don’t have to shovel or scrape anything 😉
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This one made me smile! I will take warm weather anytime … even from a bufflehead!
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Florida summer is a bit stronger and a bit longer than the Carolina version. We look at it as though it is our ‘winter’ – stay inside and avoid the elements!
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I can understand that!~
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Terrific verse & birds – and thanks also for the photos (for a moment I thought you were talking about the Swedish rock group Phoebe & the Buffleheads) :-).
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I enjoyed this poem, but thank you for explaining Phoebe and the Buffleheads. (I wanted to write buffalo heads, but that would be something different.) I like the shoveling heat and scraping humidity. It doesn’t last as long, but it can get quite hot and humid here, too–and the air does feel thick enough to do that. It’s coat and gloves weather here now–with sweaters for indoors. 🙂
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I love this Jill. How cool to have them visiting! And your descriptions of the weather are dead on. I used to travel to Florida for business, and it was humid even for me, growing up in Houston, Texas. LOL- I wrote about birds too.
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Funny and I loved that summer flew in to mirror that other season for us – huddling round the fan was a great touch and yes- rock band! I thought so too before I even saw your comment!!
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Appreciate your thoughts!
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I love this one. A concisely drawn picture of a moment I can feel.
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Thanks for stopping by, Ali!
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I love phoebe and the buffleheads! I love even just saying “bufflehead” it’s one of my favorite words. The last lines are great.
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I love this!
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