892. i spy …

from my bird’s eye perch

not one, not two but three seen

a trio of geese 🦊❤️

As I mentioned in a recent post, my stone bridge never fails to provide me with a moment worth writing about as I cross it, pause and see what’s in front of my eyes. In this case it was three geese deciding if they were going to slip into the water. I felt a alight twinge of sadness, wondering where the 4th goose was…. 🦊❤️

 

891. a “spin” on nature

‘nother sculpture spun

“rolly-polly black walnuts”

trouble underfoot  🦊❤️

My latest sculpture for my upcoming show in March is entitled, “Rolly-Polly Black Walnuts”. It is inspired by the areas of bamboo and the stands of Black Walnut trees on my favorite Wissahickon trails. It is made of concrete, bamboo, wood and fired and glazed clay. It stands 16” high and is 5.5” wide.  It is a kinetic sculpture in that the clay “walnuts” can be spun on their wooden axles. This is a reminder of the hazards of fallen walnuts that are underfoot!  🦊❤️ 

 

890. figuring it out…

first make three clay balls

then fire… then glaze… and then what?

i’ll figure it out 🦊❤️

So much of my sculpture art is done in a haphazard way in which I am compelled to make an “object” that will ultimately be part of something else - but at the moment I’m making it I have no idea what it will be a component of. My mind is blank! That is the case with three clay balls I made awhile ago.  Yesterday it started to move in a direction. It’s still getting to where it will get to… time will tell.  🦊❤️ 

 

889. today’s installation

in the icy creek

winter clouds float slowly by

naked trees shiver 🦊❤️

I have walked thousands of times across a stone bridge overlooking the Wissahickon Creek. It is a magic bridge that hosts endless moments of “newness” to be experienced, photographed and be celebrated by a haiku. Here is the latest. 🦊❤️ 

 

888. monongahela river memories

snows melted… rains fell

foot by foot it rose - then raged

life’s pieces swam by 🦊❤️

Yesterday morning the Wissahickon Creek was raging due to the previous day’s heavy rain.  There was a birdhouse stranded in one of the small tributaries that feed the creek. The sight brought back vivid memories of the Monongahela River flooding in springtime when I was a kid. I remembered debri, pieces of houses, coal barges that broke loose from their docks and many other things speeding by in the raging current. It was quite an experience to ponder as a little kid… it still is today. 🦊❤️

 

887. relax and release

in the fernery

steamy on a wintery day

uptight sprouts relax  🦊❤️

I live right next door to The Morris Arboretum. There is a fabulous fernery on the property. Walking into its steamy atmosphere on a cold winter’s day offers respite and warmth from the blustery wind. I love looking at the ferns who are still in their rolly-polly state. They remind me of me.  They give hope that if I just relaxed, I could gently unfurl and stretch out…I love ferns. 🦊❤️

886. time well spent at the bus stop

talked for five minutes

about dog prints in cement

a sweet impression 🦊❤️

When I spend time taking care of my grandkids I always find myself becoming absorbed in monumentally important discussions about the simplest of things. This helps me realize the relative unimportance of the seemingly complex things I usually think and talk about. 🦊❤️  

 

885. accommodating life

there once was a time

i was spry and could spring up

now… i need a lift 🦊❤️

Much of Yulan’s seating furniture is it at a lower level in height than my furniture. I like to say it’s more “yogic” than my furniture. As time proceeds getting my bones up from her floor level “couch arrangement” is getting tougher.  She was observant enough to suggest that I build a platform to raise the arrangement a bit to ease my struggle.  So my years of designing and building devices and creating modifications for folks with disabilities is coming in handy for me… What is the saying, “Doctor heal thyself.”? 🦊❤️

 

884. do we wanna be in pictures?

feeling eyes on us

i look up and see we’re there

our film debut 🦊❤️

Whether or not you “want to be in pictures” there’s a near 100 percent chance that you will be…🦊❤️

 

883. serendipitous winter sunrise

sunrise stopped at red

green light… evergreen, bare trees

serendipity 🦊❤️

I was driving to meet a friend early in the morning for a cup of coffee. As I drove I was reflecting on how ideal it was to be living a life in which I could wake up, drive on empty streets and meet a dear friend for coffee as a spur of the moment decision made during our early morning texting routine. I looked ahead at the blazing sunrise that was stopped at a red light down the road. I looked at the  barren trees as I cruised through the green light at the intersection of Stenton and Evergreen Avenues. I thought… SERENDIPITY! 🦊❤️

 

882. journey

barbed wire and flowers

my past and present “eye” meet

on a philly street  🦊❤️

For many years I was very immersed in photographing the grittier side of life.  Abandoned factories, disintegrating city streets, forlorn people and the like were my artistic passion.  I swore that I had no interest whatsoever in doing art that spoke of “sunny” things.  The thought of photographing trails, woods, sunrises and sunsets was a “no go”. But I do all those things now as my journey as an artist unfolds. While in Philly yesterday the sight of rusty barbed wire in front of a beautiful mural caught my eye. It’s all still in me I guess.  🦊❤️

 

881. remembering otto

the glory days gone

battles fought and feats achieved

a child’s toy lays lost  🦊❤️

I saw a great movie the other evening, “A Man Called Otto”. There is a great scene in the movie where the still angry and shut down Otto is playing with two little neighbor girls and their super hero figurines. The lost and forlorn toy figure in today’s post reminded me of those toys in the movie.  Its expression reminded me of Otto when he was lost before he was found. It is a very good movie starring Tom Hanks. See it if you can.  🦊❤️

 

880. serving morning mass in winter

chilly morning mass

votive candles warm the air

lifting hail marys 🦊❤️

When I walked outside in the early morning darkness and saw some stained glass windows illuminated at Chestnut Hill College I stood and thought about serving early morning Mass during the week when I was in grade school. When I would walk into the chilly church in the morning, a couple of old Italian ladies would already be there praying the Rosary. As I walked past the bank of burning votive candles, I could feel the air was much warmer and filled with the smell of burning wax.  As the warm air rose, I’m certain it carried their Hail Marys heavenward.  🦊❤️

 

879. … if no one is around…

in nighttime blackness

a fox screams without a sound 

a tree does the same   🦊❤️

Whenever I walk the trails in the morning and I see a freshly fallen tree I often ponder the question, “If a tree falls in  the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

When I hike in the woods late at night, I sometimes hear foxes screaming and owls hooting.  Do they make sounds when I’m not there to hear? I think the answer is “yes” to all the above questions.  🦊❤️ 

 

878. lots of laughs

we met and we ate

we talked and we remembered

best of all we laughed 🦊❤️

Yesterday I had lunch with my great work friends Mary and Dawn. It was wonderful laughing about all of the “work stuff” that was not so funny while I was working. Ahhhh I love being retired! 🦊❤️
 

877. poetry reading

poet stands and speaks

i sit and open my ears

then my minds follows  🦊❤️

Poet Eli Goldblatt

Yesterday I attended a poetry reading in a small bookstore. I sat quietly and listened to the words flow out. I sat still yet I felt my body sway internally, conducted by the rhythm of the poet’s delivery. I tried to still my mind, but it raced to where the words directed it to go. 🦊❤️

 

876. tied to apron strings

when i was little

was tied to their apron strings

mom and my grandma 🦊❤️

When I saw these two trees sidled beside each other it brought back memories of the roles that my Mom and her Mom played in my very young years. I was the poster child for kids “tied to their Mom’s apron strings.”  So much so that I was tossed out of Kindergarten because all I did was cry so I could get back home. Remember it like it was yesterday! 🦊❤️ 

 

875. do trees go to heaven?

                                (photos by rob)

a stand of tall trees

reach arms and hands heavenward

lifting up a friend 🦊❤️

I have met many fine people and their pooches on the trails. Somehow I feel that the trails are a place where people meet the people that they were intended to meet for a reason. My friend Rob and  his two beautiful dogs Poppyseed and Griff, who I met on the trails, paid a visit to my beloved towering tree that fell recently. He was kind enough to send me some photos of their visit. The skyward shot of the towering trees is very uplifting… in many ways.  I swear I see the soul of the fallen tree in their raised limbs…🦊❤️

 

874. “winging it”

i have drawn a blank

‘cause i’ve no photo to post

but… i’ll haiku on  🦊❤️

I’ve been a bit uninspired recently and today the depths of my uninspired state resulted in not having a photograph to accompany my haiku. Maintaining the practice of writing my daily haiku superseded my lack of inspiration and lack of photograph.  I’ve learned when all else fails just go ahead and do the best that I can. “Wing it”…  🦊❤️   

 

873. paints in waiting

tubes of pretty paint

hanging around just waiting

to begin to flow  🦊❤️

The space between paintings is generally occupied by inspiration waiting to visit my mind and tubes of paint restlessly waiting to be spread onto a canvas. 🦊❤️

 

872. proper perspective

one point three million…

that’s how many earths can fit

inside our star… the sun  🦊❤️

I created this latest ceramic sculpture titled “Perspective Adjuster” as a reminder of how insignificant the vast majority of life’s real and imagined issues and problems really are. It is a reminder that 1,300,000 Earths can fit inside our sun. There are between 1 and 4 billion sunlike stars in our galaxy alone. There are at least 125 billion galaxies in our observable universe. We and our “stuff” are truly very, very small. 🦊❤️

 

871. hide and seek

high up in the tree

a hoof of amadou hides

but not from my eyes 🦊❤️ 

I love Amadou which is a fungus that forms on trees. It resembles a horse hoof so is also called Horse Hoof Fungus. It has many uses ranging from tinder for starting fires to making very expensive hats with its durable fibers that are inside its amazingly hard outer shell. Also has some medicinal uses. I think it knows that I really love it because it is always popping up for me to see in the most unlikely places. Thank you Amadou! 🦊❤️

 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou

870. deep in a reflection

in the chilly creek

standing in a reflection

a still blue heron  🦊❤️ 

There is a Blue Heron that has been inhabiting the same area of a creek immediately behind my apartment for a few years.  I frequently see it as I cross a bridge over the creek. It is beautiful, shy and always captures my imagination. It is the perfect subject for a calming haiku… 🦊❤️

 

869. having fun with my shadow

my shadow lies long

like a clown walking on stilts

warm sun got my back 🦊❤️

The sun is a good partner to have fun with as it warms your back! 🦊❤️

 

868. the universe right in front of my eyes

made it up to mars

nothing much was going on

there’s no place like here 🦊❤️

More and more I yearn for the power of my awareness to relax and open to the immensity, wonder and magic of what is right in front of my eyes. It would be more exciting than visiting any place on earth or in the heavens… 🦊❤️

 

867. art that makes me pause

a cardboard canvas

bears new year’s aspirations

art that causes pause 🦊❤️

I have always been fascinated by anonymous art and messages scrawled on walls, railroad cars, dirty cars, bathroom stalls, etc. Most are very short lived exhibits as they are washed away, painted away, scrubbed away or speed away. Over the years I have seen real gems of advise and art exhibited here and there and everywhere. I hope the anonymous artist featured in today’s post really does have a great 2023! 🦊❤️

 

866. dong stick oneness

i become aware

bamboo poles move silently

as if they are one 🦊❤️

For the most part our dong stick practice is done in silence. Over the months our small group of 8 or so folks has become fluent in the routine.  Every once in a while I become aware of the synergy of the bamboo sticks moving as one. I had to break from the oneness to snap a photo. Not so in line with “oneness” but I wanted to cling to the moment…. Progress not perfection! 🦊❤️

 

865. ever present sun

a dreary sky looms

clouds loaded with winter rain

behind it all… sun 🦊❤️

Regardless of the weather the sun still shines 24/7. Regardless of our night time darkness, the sun still beams on as bright as ever. Regardless of our life circumstances the sun is still shining 93 million miles away as we spin around it on spaceship earth.  🦊❤️

 

864. standing out

really standing out

so different from the rest

brilliantly present 🦊❤️

Yesterday I was particularly struck by the presence of a brilliant white tree among all of the dark trees. A metaphor for so many things. 🦊❤️

 

863. hugging a fallen tree

what does it feel like?

to no longer tower high?

how does a hug feel? 🦊❤️

Soon my “towering dead tree” that fell recently will be cleared from the trails. It was a new experience hugging a fallen tree.  Good way to start the new year. 🦊❤️

 

862. happy new year

22 is gone

a few moments to reflect…

ok… on to 23 🦊❤️

Wishing everyone a very, very Happy New Year.  I hope you have good reflections on your 2022 and that you don't break any mirrors in 2023!!!! On to 2023… 🦊❤️