Much to the regret of multitudes of people in certain regions of the country, it’s still wintertime. Even in Houston, the temperatures have been cold enough for my family, including Birdie-the-puppy, to enjoy a fire in the fireplace now and then.

That’s one of the simple pleasures of this time of the year. There are lots of others, too, such as a warm mug of hot chocolate, heated car seats, and wool socks. Those things that make us smile in the bleak midwinter will be our haiku theme this week. So write a verse about one of those things with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. Here’s mine:

First embers aglow
in the Rectory’s fireplace —
Birdie likes the warmth.