The Romans had Vertumnus The Greeks had Horae The Buddhists have Indra When I was 6, in the throes of Winter, And waiting for Spring… I had Pookie Pookie was a small rabbit with extra large ears and wings. When winter tore down trees making forest animals homeless, and flooded streams destroying more homes of hedgehogs and field mice and rabbits and moles - well Pookie set up shelter for them, and out of concern Pookie sent winter away. All the forest was happy, until spring flowers were blooming before all the autumn leaves had fallen, and all the critters were getting winter coats that weren’t right for spring, they soon realized they needed winter as a time to rest. So dear Pookie had to fly all over, and almost froze, to find winter and plead with winter to return. Winter does return, so Pookie happily has put the world right. I try and remember this story when winter seems drawn out. Winter is time to sit by a warm fire, sip some tea, take an extra nap, and eat the food we stored in Autumn, and be thankful for each of those things.
