This is the “Cold Dew” season for Colleen Chesebro’s #TankaTuesday challenge based on the 24 Japanese seasons.
All Northern Hemisphere Weather is Not Similar
When I was a child in Michigan I loved fall because by the end of idyllic summers I was bored and ready for a change. My neighbor had a huge garden, and he let us harvest his pumpkin patch. He would gather his corn stalks and tie them together into teepee-shaped shocks. The air began to cool and the maple trees would turn red, the oaks yellow. My father and I would rake the falling leaves into piles. Then I would jump in the crunchy heaps and pretend to be Joan of Arc burning at the stake. Before my father lit the piles, he would pull me out, shaking his head at my dramatics. As an adult, I moved out west, away from the vivid seasons of Michigan. Today I live in Arizona, where it is October 11 and still 100F degrees.
Time to carve pumpkins,
Halloween Jack O’Lanterns,
and swim in the pool.
My kigo (season) word is “pumpkin patch.” I wrote a haibun because I wanted to convey more information than I could in most syllabic forms. This is because of the contrast between the idea of the “Cold Dew” season and the reality of October 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.
It’s hard to get into fall with temps like that!
It really is. And I am sick of sweating all the time. Ugh.
I worked outside today. It was 61 degrees. That’s a delightful working temp!
Oh, how lovely!
Very well done
Thank you, Derrick. Getting sick of the heat! (Too much of a good thing is too much)
I’m still in shirt sleeves – but not as hot as you
My, that is surprising! It’s so hot here that even with air conditioning in the house the gardener and I are still arguing over one degree difference in the setting on the thermostat. I need it at 78F and he thinks the house needs it at 79F. But it’s all HOT.
Arizona is an amazing place to live, but the colours of the Michigan do amaze. Cute last line.
Thank you, VJ! Oh, how I miss those colors!
So refreshing, Luanne. Thank you!
Thank you, Joy!!!
Didn’t I love jumping into that leaf pile when I was a kid! (No Joan of Arc histrionics, however.)
It was so much fun! I even got another girl to play Joan of Arc with me BTW. Her biography fascinated me.
Brilliant, Luanne. I love the juxtaposition of the seasons in your haibun. You wove your AZ temperatures into this piece with finese! 🎃
Thank you so much, Colleen!!!
You’re so welcome.
Your poem reflects your sense of humor as well. Nicely done, Luanne.
Hahaha. Gotta find the humor!
I agree.
Cute poem. Luanne. I had a maple tree in the front yard of our house in California. My neighbor asked to let her kids jump into the leave pile.
The leaves covered the entire street in front of our current house. The sweeping truck just came this morning but I took some photos yesterday.
Thank you, Miriam! Haha, did you let your neighbor kids jump in your leaves and if so did they have to be raked again?! Did you post them? I’ll go check.
No, I didn’t write about that. Our tree was the only maple on the street. Loved to share.
I love those old memories. Mine is of making a bonfire of the dried up harvested potato stalks and “baking” some stray potatoes at the edge of that fire.
Gosh, I remember responding to this! I loved baking potatoes in the coals of the fire!!!
Luanne, I remember jumping in and sloshing through piles of leaves in my childhood state of Indiana. We are now in Prescott part time and Scottsdale part-time. We have a bloggers group that meets once a month, usually somewhere in Phoenix or Scottsdale, if you’re interested in joining us. 🙂
Marsha, I am so behind this week. So sorry it took me so long to respond! Indiana, Michigan, six of one . . . . haha That is so nice of you! Thank you for thinking of me. Send me an email if you get a chance? luanne.castle[at]gmail[dot]com
No worries, Luanne. 🙂 Everyone is busy!
So true!
Nice haibun!
Thank you, Dahlia!!!
I’m sorry for your loss. I love Fall and cool crisp air.
Heh. Yes, I am definitely missing it right now. Fan is blasting on me though.
Lovely post! We carry all these childhood memories in our hearts. When we grow up, there is this blending of the old and the new…like your poem! 🙂
You are such a good writer, Linda. I love how you put that: this blending of the old and the new.” XO
Hi Luanne, like you, our winter is late coming. Of course we are now in spring but we have 10 months of hot weather and only 2 of cold. I really enjoyed this haibun. Lovely memories.
Robbie, thank you so much!!!When you say cold, how cold does it get by you? Some years we can have three months of cold, even dipping to freezing a few nights. Other years it stays very temperate the whole winter. My daughter was married last year on February 12, and the weather was 80F and gorgeous.
Lovely memories, they must be visiting you each year, Luanne! Pumpkin carving is so much fun!! Well-penned haibun.
Balroop, they do visit me each year! I always miss those days!!! XO
I love your haibun. It brings a Michigan memory in stark contrast with Arizona now. Oh, my, such a hot fall! Here in the ‘zoo we have moved into the overcast and drippy stage. Still waiting for idyllic…..🎃
Haha, hope you get the idyllic fall of my memories!!!
It’s a touch cooler now, but still quite hot. I remember you visited one year around this time and it was pouring rain.
I like how you brought the heat into it, Luanne:)
Thank you so much! XO
I love the contrast in your haibun. It was very much like that here in Florida, although recently we’ve had cooler temps and rain. I do worry about you all in the desert southwest. A few years ago we were in Nevada in late summer. The air was so hot and dry that it felt like the earth was ready to combust. I hope you get some relief soon!
I think we’re starting to get a little relief. Still 100 though! haha
2nd try on commenting. You’ve captured Michigan at this time of year so well and with your high temps where you’re at I can see why your mind wandered back to childhoods here.
Thank you for being persistent!!! Yes, this is a time I miss Michigan. Also, July. And sometimes December 25. And May. 🙂
Although summer is my favorite season, I love fall—the cold and crisp air, the gorgeous colors. You’ve captured it beautifully. Come to the Cape and experience autumn in one of the best places to do so.
Summer is so lovely in many climates (not here). Yes, the Cape sounds good! Or I could drive north to Flagstaff, Arizona, although I am suspicious about just how much color there is since I think of Flagstaff as all pine trees!
Hi, Luanne…for some reason I must have been removed as pa follower so decided to pop over here to see if you were ok? Thank goodness for you blogs – I loved this one!
And tried to sign up again! You had me worried!!
Thanks, Sheila. I heard that WordPress has had some kind of glitches about followers. @#$%^&&*
Sounds like you had a lot of fun in the pumpkin patch, Luanne! 🙂
Haha, it was fun!!!
I visited your blog post about “Cold Dew Season” for #TankaTuesday, and it’s a beautiful and evocative poem. The imagery and emotions you’ve captured in your verses create a vivid sense of the season, making it a delightful and expressive read. Thank you for sharing your poetic talents with your readers.
Thank you so much, Tanu, for stopping by and commenting. So happy you like it.
You deserve appreciation
Awesome Post