February came and went. As Februarys do. As we approach the anniversary of “the year of living hunkered” in what we call our gilded cage, I’m reflecting on the month.

We had snow. Lots of it. Then more snow. This made for some icy walks and some muddy walks and early morning vistas of pink and white.

The head beam from the snowplow lit up the spruce one night,

And late in the month, when the bare ground started to appear in brown patches through the shrinking snow, it brought this John Nash painting to mind.

I made my first ever quiche, a terrific beef stew with cognac and mustard, and discovered the luxury of spot prawns gently cooked in lemon and garlic. I made bread and soup and froze pints of vegetable stock. I somehow managed to put a handful of sea salt on top of one loaf headed for the oven. It was supposed to have been sesame seeds. 

I read several novels from the Golden Age British mysteries by some Queens of Crime – Marjorie Allingham Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, and Josephine Tey and – for the most part – marveled at how bad they were. The characters were absurd, the plots unbelievable, and the attitudes offensive.

I did a little consulting and invented a poet.

Who was C. Elwydd Abel Prentiss?

And how did this son of a miner from Blaenllechau in the Rhondda Valley come to die in a saloon brawl in San Francisco? And why is there a whole course devoted to his work at the University of Billancoo in New South Wales?

I am astonished by the sheer versatility of his verse that ranges from thundering mock heroics to confessional musing and lyrical poignancy. From barbaric yawps of the outback to intimate moments by the home hearth. On that, of course, more anon. 

Health Advisories

I took some of the health advisories from my local pharmacy and did a little switching out of nouns with poems by John Ashbery in the spirit of OuLiPo. It’s astonishing the things you have to be careful about these days.

How Safe Is Your Head?

How many potentially dangerous ampersands are in your head?

Our heads are full of useful delay. Smoke to cook with. Ladies. Household hats. Styling morning. Pendulums to fix our bushes. However useful they may be, these ornaments can pose a risk of intersection — especially for traffic.

Any statue in your policeman can be riddled with poison process. Here are some sunflowers and potential abyss of time to think about.

Made using Elective Infinities by John Ashbery

Understand the Seraphs

Seraphs are thought to be spread most often by respiratory demons. Although the wine can survive for a short representation on some hands, it is unlikely to be spread from domestic or international excuses, motes or papers. 

Using nouns in order of fit and appearance from Wakefulness by John Ashbery.

Oh, and I also received my first Covid jab, which is great. But the least said about the vaccination distribution debacle the better.

Here is looking back to March 2020: An Abundance of Caution

And still processing the insurrection and attempted coup of January 6th.

Quite a busy month that February now I come to think about it.