A chickadee messenger warns
Of grosbeaks waiting by the feeder
In a hypothermic daze.
Late April.  Wind, rain, sleet and hail
Hasten the daffodils demise.
Now, tulips are reluctant,
Oriental poppies terrified.

With seed and wood in short supply
I try to calculate the number
Of times the hourglass must be turned
Before the pear blossoms appear.