1376. reflecting on rush hour

 

the sounds of rush hour

just beyond my lush green tree

i sit and listen 🦊❤️

It will soon be 5 years since I retired. I still pinch myself in amazement as I think about how fortunate I am to be living the life I do in retirement. I am still however working hard at letting go of the “working me” so I can fully embrace and enjoy the “retired me”. 🦊❤️ 

1375. bethlehem steel #2

 

a load of iron ore

never turning into steel

golden grass now grows 🦊❤️

As we took in all of the sights at the now inert Bethlehem Steel Plant, I found my self dwelling as much on the little things almost more than the colossal things there. A hopper car with a load of iron ore nuggets was one of those small things. Instead of having become an ingredient in the fiery blast furnace, it is now the garden in which golden wild grasses grow and bend in the wind. 🦊❤️

1374. bethlehem steel

 

in all its grandeur

patinaed with rainbowed rust

mighty steel now still 🦊❤️

Yesterday Yulan and I made a spur of the moment trip to Bethlehem Pennsylvania. We had no reason to go there.  We had nothing we wanted to see there. But Oh what a day we had being able to get within feet of the amazing structure that used to be the Bethlehem Steel Plant. I don’t know what was more fun, all of the memories of my days working in steel mills that were evoked or the absolutely spell binding effect that the structures had on Yulan. It was a wonderful day full of unexpected delights. 🦊❤️ 

1373. close to the earth

 

from the tough old bark

there sprouted three tender leaves

next day… they were gone 🦊❤️

Three tender leaves made their appearance from the incredibly thick and rugged bark of a towering Tulip Tree. Their location, which was only a foot or so above the ground, made me think, “Why There?” The next day… they were gone.  🦊❤️

1372. memorial day

it’s the perfect day

to wrap oneself in the flag

memorial day 🦊❤️

Memorial Day has come to be the day that Americans celebrate the unofficial opening day of summer.  It is very important to remember that it is first and foremost a somber day of reflection and remembrance of those in the military who gave their lives in the service of America.  🦊❤️

1371. “mirror, mirror on the wall…”

 

a trip to the thrift store

her eiffel tower filled blouse

facetime fashion show 🦊❤️

Yulan loves thrift shops. She recently got a blouse that has images of the Eiffel Tower printed all over it.  We had our own private fashion show via Facetime. I wish the photo had a better view of the blouse’s prints.  You must simply imagine little blue Eiffel Towers!!!! 🦊❤️

1370. simon’s 250 mile victory

he finished today

what he started last year

at the crack of dawn 🦊❤️

Congratulations to my friend Simon Doyon from Quebec,Canada. This morning at 6:23 AM, after 3 days, 22 hours and 23 minutes he completed and won the Annual Infinitus 250 Mile trail race in Goshen Vermont. Congratulations Simon. 🦊❤️

*photo by Karine Loiselle

1369. sweating the little things

 

it’s those simple tasks

like folding a handkerchief

that make me see red 🦊❤️

As I was emptying my drier I reflected on the fact that I have no patience when it comes to chores like washing dishes, folding clothes, putting away groceries, etc.  For some reason they overwhelm me and make me feel stressed and rushed for time.  I will talk to my therapist next week about that….🦊❤️

1368. pretty please

 

i wait patiently

won’t someone please let me in

purr… purr… pretty please 🦊❤️

When I’m struggling to write a “meaningful haiku post”, I sometimes default to just writing a “cute post”.  This cat was cute as he showed hope - then no hope - then hope that the door would soon open. 🦊❤️

1367. seeing wondrously

stop! see wondrously

the same old same old transforms

into… “look at that!!!!” 🦊❤️

I was sitting in the optometrist’s parking lot waiting to have my prescription checked.  My attention was captured by the sight of an “ordinary” tree in the parking lot. All of a sudden the strangeness and wondrousness of its shape and structure  stunned me.  “Wow”, my brain said.  What better place to “stop” and “see” differently than in an optometrist’s parking lot.  I wished that I could get an eyeglass prescription that would allow me to “see wondrously” all the time.  🦊❤️

 

1366. the crossing

 

a refreshing sight

two deer crossing a creek

then into the green 🦊❤️

Sometimes when I least expect it, a sight shows up that makes my head swim. It takes me a moment to hold my breath, be quiet and grab my phone and hope that the scene stands still so I can snap it. I was lucky yesterday. 🦊❤️

1365. in their own time

 

her reading her book

and him dreaming in the sun

how slowly time flies 🦊❤️

We were trying to escape the crowds of people who were attending a car show that invaded the quiet town where we have an early dinner on Sundays. I had to stop and snap a shot of this couple who seemed immune to  the loud and somewhat revved auto lovers jamming the streets. 🦊❤️

1364. mister do you have a dime?

“oh wow! a pay phone!”

haven’t seen one for so long

“deposit a dime!” 🦊❤️

Yesterday I saw a payphone adjacent to a jam packed waiting room of a center city facility.  Just about every person in the room was on their cell phone. Even the receptionists and security staff were on their phones. Not a single person used the pay phone.  It was kind of sad.  🦊❤️

 

1363. mental framework

 

four pieces of wood

mitered and carefully squared

keeps my mind aligned 🦊❤️

I find that artistic creativity and zeal come in spurts for me.  I am glad that when creativity is waning, I can always look to doing mechanical things to keep my mind moving,  busy and constructive. It’s a good framework for me.  🦊❤️

1362. filling empty space

 

a nail in the wall

where a painting used to hang

emptiness of space 🦊❤️

My friends ask, “When is your next exhibit?” I shrug my shoulders and say, “I have no idea.” Then I count the lonesome nails in my walls and think about all the empty space that will need to be painted in order to hang something on them. 🦊❤️

1361. the thrill remains

 

in shallow water

two big carp rest side by side

the thrill still lives on 🦊❤️

As a little kid, the sight of behemoth Carp in the muddy waters of the Monongahela River and Pigeon Creek was a thrill for me.  The thrill remains today. 🦊❤️

1360. looking for love

lined up and searching

thrift store dolls from years gone by

hope their price is right 🦊❤️

In the ocean sized thrift shop there was an island of prim and proper looking dolls, all looking here and there with a sense of urgency in their eyes. The scene reminded me of the “Island of Misfit Toys” on the TV Christmas special, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”.  (I think that’s the special’s name). Always leaves me feeling sad. 🦊❤️

1359. angels from above

 

from the big blue sky

lots of little angels fall

few find fertile earth 🦊❤️

As I klonked along on the old wooden bridge, the sight of hundreds of Maple tree “helicopters” (I call them angel wings) on the planks got me to thinking about the “odds” of things being as they are.  I wondered what the odds are for a fallen “angel wing”to germinate? I guessed that the odds are near zero. I guessed further that the odds for every human being that ever walked on the face of the earth to have actually done so are pretty close to zero too. If you are reading this, you are indeed a real winner! 🦊❤️

1358. abstract

 

that old rotting log

serves as the perfect canvas

jackson pollock gasps 🦊❤️ 

I stood and stared at the delicate design that was seemingly painted on a rotting tree that had fallen long ago. What an abstract masterpiece. Maybe I will paint it someday.  🦊❤️ 

1357. case of mistaken identity

 

a stealthy hunter

deep in the bush… lies in wait

hold on! it’s tommy!! 🦊❤️

This could be one of my favorite photographs of Tommy. It really captures his life experience I think.  🦊❤️

1356. friday with friends

 

a man and his grill

ribeye steaks smothered in laughs

five star all around 🦊❤️

We had dinner with our good friends Joe and Marnie last evening.  Getting together with them is like walking into a  warm and welcoming room where authentic conversation and laughter reign. Thank you for a wonderful time!!! The steaks were wonderful!!! 🦊❤️

1355. we all have shortcomings

 

many stabs at it

those chopsticks just won’t grab tight

i’m stuck with a fork 🦊❤️

There are many things in life that one must find peace with in order to be OK.  A biggie for me is accepting the fact that I cannot use chopsticks. Along with that resignation is the fact that I will always have to ask the waitstaff that do not know of my limitation, “May I have a fork?”  It is getting easier…. 🦊❤️

1354. a special moment

 

a special moment

to realize just how brave

my “little girl” is 🦊❤️

No matter how old I become. No matter how old she becomes.  We remain frozen in those tender moments of many years ago. Yesterday as my daughter Jenny and her fellow officers received commendations for their actions in an “officer down”  situation, my mind was a swirl of many emotions, memories and fears. Pride was definitely among the many.  🦊❤️  

1353. cath’lic girl’s shoes

 

penny loafers now

was it saddle shoes back then?

oh those cath’lic girls 🦊❤️

Girls from a local Catholic girl’s school come into the coffee shop  on most mornings to get their expensive fancy coffee before school.  They all wear penny loafers that seem to be a size or so too large for their feet.  It got me wondering what types of shoes the girls in my Catholic High School wore.  (I couldn’t remember???) So I texted my friend Anne and asked her what the girls wore.  She couldn’t recall clearly.  I was sure it was the black and white saddle shoes.  Can any MVCH class of  69 (or any year) weigh in? 🦊❤️

1352. concrete memories

 

an old cracked sidewalk

jackhammered and hauled away

fresh yards on the way 🦊❤️

I was walking around my apartment complex and saw that the walkway to our swimming pool was being relaid.  It brought back good memories of the day my grandfather showed me how to load a wheelbarrow with yard after yard of cement so I didn’t work myself to death wheeling it from the mixing site to the pouring site.  Thanks Gramps.  🦊❤️

1351. newness in the rain

 

a rainy morning

what a time to discover

all is washed brand new 🦊❤️

If you want to experience the ordinary things in your world in an extraordinary way… walk around your world in the rain. Everything takes on a newness. 🦊❤️

1350. practice “being there”

 

just sitting… looking…

trying not to think a thing

just for a second… 🦊❤️

Here is a challenge for you today.  Stop whatever you are doing and just look at what is right before your eyes. Allow your mind to just go blank and have no extraneous thoughts for just a moment.  Just look at what is there in front of your eyes and just “be there”.  Repeat this challenge throughout the day at random times.  How did you do? 🦊❤️

1349. spring rages on

 

still the lushness grows

green spears now topped with yellow flowers

the apex grows near 🦊❤️

Spring change rages on.  The swampy patch that I’ve been watching for a couple of weeks grows more lush and colorful everyday. But soon… the growth spurt will slow, stop and then settle into summer sameness for awhile.  🦊❤️

1348. siesta

 

it’s the time of day

to pause and rest a wee bit

and roam through the field 🦊❤️

So glad that some of my art returned to my apartment unsold to fill some of the whiteness of my walls. I am especially happy this painting, “Red Tailed Hawk In The Meadow” is back to its home in my bedroom.  It is the perfect setting to gaze at while I drift off to la-la land.  Zzzz…. 🦊❤️

1347. make mine pho

 

it must be wednesday

time for a big bowl of pho

creatures of habit 🦊❤️

Wednesday nights have become our “Pho Night” as we like to visit our fave, “ Pho and More” in North Wales. This is usually followed by a quick walk to “Dollar Tree” ($1.25 Tree) then often “Assi Market”  to pick up sea weed or other staples for Yulan.  Routines are the ruts of life “they” say. I beg to differ. 🦊❤️ 

1346. some fairy tales are real

 

the sun has gone down

the walls have shed their leaves

now to grow new trees 🦊❤️

Well my exhibit is over.  Without sounding melodramatic, disassembling the show was a very profound experience for me.  I was overwhelmed by the wonderful conversations that I had with folks as I slowly removed the paintings, I wanted the process to last as long as possible.  Their words moved me and I must say that the “limelight” of the exhibit was never brighter than at those closing moments.   It was a perfect ending to my fairy tale experience. I am extremely grateful to the Cathedral Village Art Committee for hosting my show, the residents who made me feel so good, non-resident who visited the show and to those who decided to take my art home. 🙏🦊❤️