920. every seat is the best seat in the house

morning coffee out

my main street seat occupied

stairway view’s  just fine 🦊❤️

I have a new place to have coffee out. It doesn’t take me long to habituate to a place and settle into finding my “favorite seating spot” that I come to consider my own.  Well yesterday someone was in my favorite seat and I had to make do with a seat in the back of the shop, looking out a window at steps coming from the apartment above. All in all the temporary arrangement worked out because I got a great haiku from it. 🦊❤️

 

919. crawling with art lovers

uninvited guest

an arachnid art lover

an eight legged gem 🦊❤️

At yesterday’s art opening at a beautiful gallery in a pretty posh area, I was fascinated by one of the art lovers in attendance.  It was a gem of a find! 🦊❤️

 

918. the hunter

deep within the tree

the red tailed hawk perched… and looked

so glad i’m so big  🦊❤️

I marvel at the vigilance, speed, tactics, grace and maneuverability of the Red Tailed hawk.  To watch them shift from a glide to a lightning speed dive toward prey is jaw dropping.  Then… to watch them ascend with their next meal in their talons - Wow. Makes me glad I am so big…. 🦊❤️ 

 

917. morning and the mourning dove

two doves in the tree

year after year they return

soon there will be three 🦊❤️

As I compose this post in early morning… I hear the mourning sound of a dove outside. I hope that I can have a bird’s eye view again this year of new life in the tree by my deck. Magical… 🦊❤️

 

916. tlc

framed by tangled limbs

a sun bathing turtle rests

a picture of peace  🦊❤️

•••

 I really enjoy watching animals taking care of themselves. As I was writing this post on the sunbathing turtle, I was contemplating Yulan’s cat Willey basking in slivers of  the afternoon sun. I love my new iphone camera. Always there to help! 🦊❤️

 

915. i spy something purple

here… there… everywhere!

the color purple appeared

coincidental 🦊❤️

It was fun to see lots of the color purple coincidentally show up at Dong Stick  practice yesterday! 🦊❤️

 

914. heavenly line up

three orbs in a row

moon. venus and jupiter

thanking lucky stars 🦊❤️

Today was a magnificent day. 

1. I got a new iphone thanks to Yulan.

 2. I met two new super nice people.

3. I received an Amazon gift card from someone I initially did not care for in the least. 

 4. I talked to my old high school friend on my new phone and laughed like crazy. 

5. I’m figuring out how to get more channels after cancelling my cable service. 

6. I had dinner with my dear friend and shared great news with her. 

7. My new monthly rent did not go up as much as I was expecting. 

8. A very painful personal heart ache was “miraculously” healed. 

9. I witnessed one of my kids act in a way that made me proud beyond what I thought was possible. 

10. I looked into the perfectly clear night sky and saw the Moon, Venus and Jupiter brightly shining and in alignment. 

11. I took a picture of the planetary wonder with my new phone. 

12. I thought about how life unfolds if you allow it to unfold. 

13. I thanked my lucky stars and really meant it. 

🦊❤️

 

913. cold, hard reality

coldness of winter

drills deep into your hardness

summer sun will come  🦊❤️

There is nothing like the coldness of stone in winter. There is nothing like the warmness of stone in summer. That is how stone is. 🦊❤️

 

912. z’s & d’s

while catching some z’s

the red fox soaks up some d’s

working the night shift 🦊❤️

I love foxes.  I generally only see them dashing across the road or field after dark as they are mainly nocturnal. When I was a kid my nickname was Foxx. The only person who still calls me Foxx is my old friend from high school Gery Sasko. I love that he still calls me Foxx and I love him for doing that. 🦊❤️

 

911. shelter in place

warm embers glowing

inside your cradling petals

winter winds blowing  🦊❤️

Watching nature protect itself against itself is fascinating.  I imagined the warmness inside these crocuses hugging themselves at midday as the cold winds blew.  A very cozy space inside I’m sure. 

🦊❤️

910. twinkle, twinkle

once up in the sky

such a sudden fall to earth

you were… are a star 🦊❤️

When I look at the plucked roots of a fallen tree I see a star. 🦊❤️  

 

909. beautiful flowers

in the oak’s shadow

snowdrops and crocuses wait

for a surprise snow 🦊❤️

If the snow comes… or doesn’t come, the flowers are beautiful. Regardless of why there has been no snow this year the flowers are still beautiful. Enjoy the flowers.  🦊❤️

 

908. reincarnation

long after your fall

mushrooms and fungi gather

to carry you on  🦊❤️

I continue my read of the book “Finding The Mother Tree”.  The trails and woods are becoming even more amazing and intricate to me as a result.  The long ago fallen Cucumber Magnolia in today’s photograph remains a friend and sustainer to my favorite Cucumber Magnolia tree still standing close by with the help of the mushrooms and fungi that it hosts above and below ground. 🦊❤️

 

907. satisfied with my memories

that old projector

collects dust and spins no more

frame after frame… still  🦊❤️

There was no movie taking that went on when I was growing up. I wish there was so that I could spend some time comparing my memories to the realities of the old family movies. But then again… maybe not. 🦊❤️

 

906. fish in a bowl

four fish in a bowl

weaving in and out of stems

having a grand time 🦊❤️

I love watching fish in a bowl playing in their little world. They make the most of their little world.  Great lesson.  🦊❤️

 

905. the scale of things to come

like david hockney

 I get lost in small detail

1/12 scale fun 🦊❤️

One of my biggest artistic influences is David Hockney. Now 85 years old, he still recreates himself and his art. I am always amazed at his attention to detail, even to the degree of miniaturizing his many large exhibits so that he could precisely arrange his work just so. As my upcoming exhibit will be shown in four beautiful storefront windows, my large landscapes will require much thought regarding placement. So I am creating a 1/12 scale model of the venue along with scaled versions of my paintings. I am totally lost in the detail and fun of the project. 🦊❤️  

 

904. warrior trees

you standing your ground

leaning into the battle 

consummate warrior 🦊❤️

I do not consider myself an outdoorsman in the sense that I have any expertise at all regarding camping and those things. I’m certainly not a woodsman although I have split lots of logs when I had a fireplace. (Now I have a fake one).  But I have developed a very deep sense of connection with trees.  I have come to love them and see them as people.  I think they are the consummate warriors in so many ways. 🦊❤️

 

903. the art of looking

a tangle of limbs

reaching out every which way

sunset mosaic 🦊❤️

I love the sunrise and sunset times of day.  They are the times that are the most empty of manmade sounds and the most full of nature’s visual delights. They are the times of day my stops to “just look” are most frequent. They are the times of day that my mind fills with imaginary art. 🦊❤️

 

902. fun with willey

i have your car keys

you’d better give me a treat

it’s a long walk home  🦊❤️

Yulan’s cat Willey is a shameless treat hound.  He will wait forever, staring me down with pleading eyes.  He will endure most of my tomfoolery as he anticipates my eventual caving in to his cravings.  Willey is lots of fun. 🦊❤️

 

901. end of a busy day

my side view mirror

reminds me that my bedtime

is not far away  🦊❤️

I love being busy. Some busy days are wearying. That happens sometimes. My clean sheets were wonderful. 🦊❤️

 

900. impermanence

on the rutted trail

overnight’s masterpieces

hiding from the sun 🦊❤️

I think that frost is one of nature’s most amazing and beautiful works of art. It is created overnight and quickly disappears as the day dawns. Frost and how it comes and goes is worth pondering.  🦊❤️

 

899. anticipation

the ultimate test

my mind hung in public space

risking stranger’s eyes 🦊❤️👀

In a little over a month my first “real” art exhibit will open. I am excited and also nervous. I started my self taught journey into painting 4 years ago as an exercise in personal growth. I said to Yulan, “I feel like painting a portrait” She said, “Ok, lets go to the art store.” We went to the art store. Some 300 portraits and 25 large landscapes later… here I am looking at the upcoming exhibit as another exercise in personal growth. It seems as we grow, we eventually get to another first step in a new adventure into personal growth. 🦊❤️

 

898. spy balloon mystery solved

high up in the sky

a suspect orb drifts on by

it’s a mad, mad world  🦊❤️

When I saw the full moon last evening I thought about the televised images of the mysterious balloon high above the USA. It was then that I imagined it was the legendary Alfred E. Neumann in the basket of a hot air balloon looking down and laughing. Saying, “What me worry?” 🦊❤️

 

897. and then we are gone…

our perfect shadows

so black and so crisp - alas

erased by a cloud 🦊❤️

Shadows fascinate me. I especially love shadows that are the result of a clear sky, and a perfectly positioned sun. Shadows that move are the best to watch. But then… a rogue cloud rolls in. That’s life... 🦊❤️

 

896. snuggling oneself

green pachysandra

hunker down in winter’s brown

hugging themselves warm 🦊❤️

Pachysandra plants remain green in winter’s brownness.  Yet, whenever the temperatures plummet, they pull their leaves closer to themselves to conserve moisture and warmth. They are like the tiny alpine tundra plants that survive brutally harsh temperatures and winds. Today in the coldness is a good day for us to do the same. 🦊❤️  

 

895. in a bob ross world (for my friend joe)

in a bob ross world

little cabins can pop up

wherever you’d like  🦊❤️

I posted the birdhouse that is in today’s post the other day while the creek was flooded. Today it is marooned on a sandy island. It reminded me of the little houses, cabins and old barns that Bob Ross would suddenly decide to paint in a landscape painting that appeared to be complete. As he painted them I would begin to paint the mental picture of myself inhabiting them. I loved the life lessons that he taught as he painted. “It’s your painting and you can do as you please.” 🦊❤️

894. a forgotten bench tale

a dusting of snow

finding rest on a cold night

time to rise and shine  🦊❤️

There is a little folding bench that has been abandoned in the park. It’s been there for a week or so. This morning it was covered with a dusting of weary snow that fell overnight. The rising sun was beaming through the trees and was headed straight toward the bench to rest a while after its 93,000,000 mile journey. The snow quickly rose back into the sky to fall again another day.  The forgotten bench felt a warm feeling knowing he was finding new friends  🦊❤️

893. morning brew series (1)

sitting on a stool

hostage to the coffee’s spell

a mood to savor 🦊❤️

For years during my morning commute I jealously wanted to be the ones who sat behind the windows of warmly lit rooms reading the newspaper and sipping their morning coffee. Or the ones sitting in small coffee shops listening to other’s idle chatter or soft music while watching morning commuters like me winding their ways to work. Now I am one of those people. It was worth the wait. Most grateful. 🦊❤️

Backyard Beans Coffee Company, 22 East Butler Ave. Ambler, Pa. Great place to start the day regardless of your work status!