The end of 2022

A poem to end the year:

The Death of the Old Year

Alfred, Lord Tennyson – 1809-1892

Full knee-deep lies the winter snow,
And the winter winds are wearily sighing:
Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,
And tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.
       Old year you must not die;
       You came to us so readily,
       You lived with us so steadily,
       Old year, you shall not die.

He lieth still: he doth not move:
He will not see the dawn of day.
He hath no other life above.
He gave me a friend and a true truelove
And the New-year will take ’em away.
       Old year you must not go;
       So long you have been with us,
       Such joy as you have seen with us,
       Old year, you shall not go.

He froth’d his bumpers to the brim;
A jollier year we shall not see.
But tho’ his eyes are waxing dim,
And tho’ his foes speak ill of him,
He was a friend to me.
       Old year, you shall not die;
       We did so laugh and cry with you,
       I’ve half a mind to die with you,
       Old year, if you must die.

He was full of joke and jest,
But all his merry quips are o’er.
To see him die across the waste
His son and heir doth ride post-haste,
But he’ll be dead before.
       Every one for his own.
       The night is starry and cold, my friend,
       And the New-year blithe and bold, my friend,
       Comes up to take his own.

How hard he breathes! over the snow
I heard just now the crowing cock.
The shadows flicker to and fro:
The cricket chirps: the light burns low:
’Tis nearly twelve o’clock.
       Shake hands, before you die.
       Old year, we’ll dearly rue for you:
       What is it we can do for you?
       Speak out before you die.

His face is growing sharp and thin.
Alack! our friend is gone,
Close up his eyes: tie up his chin:
Step from the corpse, and let him in
That standeth there alone,
       And waiteth at the door.
       There’s a new foot on the floor, my friend,
       And a new face at the door, my friend,
       A new face at the door.

2022 was a good year for us. We traveled to the Carolinas, Georgia, Kentucky and Florida in January and Florida. We had great fun seeing friends and looking at birds, insects and plants.

We spent a lot of time at Whitefish Point.

In July we had a delightful visit from Alexis, Milly, Oscar and Simon.

Then in October we flew to L.A. to visit Susan’s sister and attend her nephew Nick’s wedding.

Throughout the year I enjoyed writing this blog, photographing plants and animals, and even drawing again, which I hadn’t done for years.

Now we are both looking forward to see what adventures we will have in 2023.

Now on to some humor to take you into 2023.

While I’ve managed to maintain my weight and walking (over 4.5 miles a day), I’d like to continue improving on both, which will start next week.

Celebrating this evening with long-time friends, hopefully making too much noise and celebrating a UM football victory.

And remember, playing fetch with your dragon can get unexpected results.

Until next year…