For my Lammas ("Bread Day")

I have harvested my little volunteer wheat crop... and will include it in my bread making today... well actually, pancakes.  This is my Lammas (Bread Day) celebration!

I Am Learning

I am learning that

• nothing lasts forever,
• if you feed birds, you will feed squirrels and mice as well,
• it's not what you plant, but what grows.
• the wind is brutal,
• everything does not bloom at the same time, nor as long as I might like.
• peas taste better eaten in the garden,
• everything moves, including rocks,
• I never have enough flower pots, or seeds,
• I find spontaneous moments of joy in our garden (if I don't focus too much on what the earwigs have eaten!).

Today is Independence Day in the USA... The earth is at its Aphelion.  The moon is full and prenumbrally eclipsed.  Our grandkids are in town.  And, today is Day 114 of our COVID-19 isolation.

For Cindy

I am amazed
At this river’s current
Powerful volume,
Never ending,
Never running dry.
I might dip my hand in it
And feel the power and pressure
Of the water
Flowing down from the mountains,
Flowing through the continent,
Flowing on to the ocean,
Becoming ocean,
And then returning
As storm clouds,
Rain and snow on the mountains
And then stream and river again,
Carrying bits of the mountains
To the oceans.

I stand here
On the bank
In this flood plain,
Witnessing the power
That carries everything
Down stream,
Amazed and cautious.

When the Wind Stops... We Sing!

I didn’t think I had an argument with God
Though I knew I didn’t completely agree,
With the weeds in my garden,
Or whatever’s eating my plants…
I’m beginning to wonder if He objects to
My planting beans this year.

And what is it with this wind?

(The tougher of our plants simply continued to bloom after a full day of furious, hot dry winds yesterday!) 

just write...

Summer Solstice

star dust... and sunshine... celebrating just being...

Expansion and Contraction

I've seen the earth stretch out
in the evening as the sun sets,
when I haven't traveled
as far as I thought I would that day,
and more, much more I did not see,
and I wished to be there
instead of here, where I am.

But then, I've seen the earth contract
late at night as it cools,
and everything is lit by a campfire,
or is contained within four walls,
with the windows closed,
and it's all on the television screen,
or on the pages of a book,
and there's nowhere else I want to be,
but right here, where I am.

On Day 95 of Isolation

I fold my arms
as if to embrace myself,
bow my head
and close my eyes,
collapsing my world
around me like a comforter.
All the universe is now
just what is within sight,
within hearing,
and within reach.
Even with the wind blowing,
here I find peace.

Staying Balanced

My Latest Creation: A Perfectly Imperfect Canjo

This was an intentionally imperfect build... I tarnished the cookie tin, chose a knotty pine 1x2 for the neck (it has to be played with a slide), which I distressed, rusted the bridge and nut, dented the tin, and inserted a couple of little pieces of rock to rattle inside...  and inside I wrote: "the nature of the beast..."

It's a bit on the quiet side, but plays nicely... not perfectly... but nicely.

After 84 Days of Self-Isolation

We are taking it one day at a time...


see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhWFddWz1Nk

A Prescription for Acute Individualism and Existential Angst

Look at...
the grass in a meadow,
a forest of trees,
the ocean waves,
a flock of starlings,
a school of sardines,
a mountain range,
or rolling hills.
Look at...
fair weather cumulus clouds,
water in a river,
the drops of rain on a rainy day,
Or the snowflakes in a blizzard.
Look at...
the stars in the night sky,
or the bees in an orchard,
or visiting wildflowers
among the grass in a meadow.

radishes

there's something about radishes that makes me think I am a gardener...

Cotton and Silk

There is cotton and silk floating in the sky,
Cottonwood and spiders fly!
Summer is truly here now...
Miracles are happening daily.

A Little Cousin

Someone else loves dandelions... even more than I do.

monuments to hope

Of course everything in the garden is a testament to hope...

The Product of Success

consider this... each of us is the product of an unbroken chain of successful reproductions...

columbine

Jumping Waves

I remember standing chest deep
in the Pacific Ocean
waiting for waves to come
and I would jump up with each one.

Standing there as a big one
rose up well over my head,
too high to jump,
my only choice was to dive.

I am tiny in the ocean,
I am weak before the waves.
That is the thrill of being there,
chest deep in the untamed ocean.

I'll Wait

A house finch
sings a glorious proclamation
from the dead branch
of our plum tree.

I am ready
to cut it off,
but I will wait.

CSI: Blueberries

delicious...

together

in isolation together...

thank you Jean...

My Pulse and Breath

My pulse and breath, red blood circulating through my body, my brain awake, planning and imagining.  I begin this singular day, already passing...  Nothing stands still.  I am aging, my wife is aging, our children are aging, our grandchildren are growing... already passing, already passing... 

I would hold on to this one day, this hour, or this moment complete and yet unfinished, filled with apple blossom perfume and sparrow chatter... already passing, already passing... already gone.

I cannot hold on to anything real.  Each moment as perceived, is gone.  By the time I notice a bird in flight it is gone.  Everything is in motion, everywhere... in the universe, in this planet, in this mountain side, in our home, in our calendar and our clock... inside my own body, my pulse and my breath... already passing, already passing... already gone.

Only photographs and my words crystallize moments and thought around me, but they are not real... only snapshots of something that happened.  Reality never stands still, not even thousand year-old bristlecones.  They dance with the wind... already passing, already passing, already gone.

And yet... I still take pictures and write down words... 

eating dandelion blossoms

it is a sacrament
eating from the earth
the springboard of life
all life, including my own
pulse and breath
eating from life
wild, green, growing
flourishing bright yellow
honeybee sharing
it is a communion
tasting the floral
essence of life
of spring time
and I find the simple
moment of bright
yellow joy

dancing green

a golden green
in the sun's white light
pines and grasses
dancing with the breeze

I am not green
but I too dance
with the breeze
in the sun's white light

lemon

For Jean

I sat down to write you poem,
but forgot what I wanted to say.
That's nothing to worry about,
it happens every day.

OK, I lied about that.
What I really meant to say,
it's nothing to worry about,
it happens several times a day.

Well, I'm really off track now,
and I remembered what I wanted to say.
I love you with all my heart,
and think of you every day.

No... several times a day.

(and here are some roses...)

contrast

Faith in the Way Things Are

How do I have faith
in the way things are,
when life's a shaky, narrow bridge
between birth and death?
I fear I will fall.
What could be is always
stronger that what is.

A Mere Shadow of My Former Self

Haunting our House...

Liking How It All Turned Out

(after the style of John Prine...)

Well, I just have to say
that I'm OK,
Had myself a wonderful day.
I like how it all turned out.

And my wish for you,
you'd be OK too,
everything beautiful and true,
and liking how it all turned out.

What if everyone could be
as OK as you and me.
That would be something to see,
Everyone liking how it all turned out.

To Breathe the Same Air

We gather together
in The Spirit
to breathe the same air,
eat the same bread,
drink the same wine,
to hear the same words,
and the same musical notes.
We gather together
to laugh together,
and to cry together,
to hold each other's hands,
look into each other's eyes,
and breathe the same air.

The Joy of a Bath!

birds, dogs and children
know how fun a bath can be

Joy and Sorrow

joy and sorrow hold hands
as they walk along their path
together as lovers, they
grow closer every day

In Search of God...

...I keep coming across Nature.

For Ben...

I am so sorry, in the midst of this pandemic, to note the death of a good friend of our extended family, Ben Sorensen. 

Our sympathies go out to his wife, Thelma and to his children, Jakie and Cici. 

He struggled with kidney failure for years, and was very ill this last week or so.  Coming back from a coma he was able to save his wife from having to make a very difficult decision.  He chose to leave the hospital and die a few days later in his own home, surrounded by his family.  He was able to say goodbye to them all. 

We will miss Ben.

My Favorite Blue...

...comes after a week of grey.

O Pioneers!

All Beginnings...

"All beginnings are small."

Our microgreens are coming.

Just Thinking of Little Things Today...

like
here and now
inside and outside
childhood memories
and love lasting
like
the sky above me
rivers of air
and the earth beneath me
and like
people, just normal people...
and again, love...

As A Child

As a child
of the earth,
I breathe
plants' breaths,
I drink water
rising from oceans,
and I eat
sunshine and dirt.

I am so blessed.

I Remember

I remember what is important...

Open

I open our door
and find the earth,
nature, and the cosmos.
Explore! Explore
infinite possibilities!
Where shall I go first?







(Where ever I go
it will be 6 - 10 feet away 
from everyone else...) 

Isolation - Day 8

Self-isolation is hard for two reasons.  The first is that we keep finding reasons to open our door to others to get our groceries, our mail, (our taxes!), and our worship.  I don't know how safe our home is if we keep making exceptions.  We opening ourselves to the flow of pathogens from beyond our walls.

The second season is that locally we are are not validated by our community.  Our isolation and social distancing is still looked at as "panicking" or "over reacting."  I have to fend off the doubts these encroaching labels cast my way.

Jean and I are doing this to protect ourselves and everyone we may come in contact with.  We feel it is our duty to each other, our family, our neighbors, and everyone else as well.  We want to stop this virus.  We are fighting the Coronavirus, Covid-19... and isolation is our weapon.

I hope everyone else stays safe as well.

When things get complicated

when things get complicated,
jumbled and confused...

keep growing!

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

this hardy pioneer,
yellow and brave,
humble in the break
between concrete
and stone...

I thank you,
my distant cousin,
for showing me
the changing seasons
again...

From the Other Side of the Fallen Leaves

It doesn't matter
what has fallen,
I will begin anew
my life
with each moment.