Winter's rest

 Life in so many forms slows for winter.

But, a brief walk toward my neighborhood park

tells me that winter is a time for new beginning

in our climate. Slowness, here, comes in mid-summer 

when the grasses go to seed and lack of rain 

tempers rampant growth.

In December, even a big Pacific storm is moderate:

an inch of rain, winds 30 mph, temp in the 40’s and 50’s.

So, quiet winter with its short days is a soft renewal 

in California. I love living here. It is home and where I was born,

in an early Spring quite a long time ago.