1770. storm story

 

the booms got closer
the winds came like a freight train
the rain fell and fell 🦊❤️

I sat on my balcony and watched today’s storm story be written. It was a very short story but very dramatic!! 🦊❤️

1769. he’s out of this world


here- there-everywhere
now it’s time for outer space
3-2-1 blastoff 🦊❤️

I must say that I had a blast building my first rocket (not from a kit). The rocket’s name is “Tommy Hawk” like the Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Tommy peers out from the ship’s portal waiting anxiously to blast off. Its maiden voyage will be in early August in NY. 🦊❤️

 

1768. i can fly

 

in the lush garden
a frog jumps with such vigor
he flies like a bird 🦊❤️

Lush gardens are fantasy factories. 🦊❤️

1767. “one, two, buckle my shoe…”

 

one, two - they’re not new
three, four - play it on the floor
five, six - pick up sticks 🦊❤️

My son Kevin told me that he was looking for a set of “Pick Up Sticks” for him and Hillary to play. While at the art supply store today I miraculously found them there. I think it is great that they enjoy playing “ “olden day games”. I bought a set for me and Yulan too. 🦊❤️

One, two, buckle my shoeThree, four, shut the doorFive, six, pick up sticksSeven, eight, lay them straightNine, ten, begin again

1766. red

 

in a big red room
with her big red shoulder bag
hair red as roses 🦊❤️
Seeing red… 🦊❤️

1765. sad day for the little bear

 

a little brown bear
there for you through thick and thin
loyal till the end 🦊❤️

I have a soft spot in my heart for stuffed animals that are tossed away.  There should be a law against it… 🦊❤️

1764. a pastel feeling

i toast with agua
her with bubbly prosecco
pretty in pastel 🦊❤️

Thank you to our Elder’s Group that hosted a belated celebration of our recent marriage.  I think that we look great in pastel!! 🦊❤️

1763. the wonder of sharing

 

who’d have imagined
that sharing could be so good
real dick tracy stuff 🦊❤️

The best thing about enjoying all of the technological resources at our disposal is to really take the time to be fully amazed  by them. 🦊❤️ 

1762. new store in town

 

if you’re full of (blank)
‘cause your pipes are all clogged up
here’s some help for you 🦊❤️

I could not help but laugh as we walked through an upscale retail area and saw this new “store” that just opened.  Yep… an enema store! 🦊❤️

1761. the aftermath

big storms rolled on though
tommy’s old haunts are transformed
it’s time to explore 🦊❤️

When storms roll through the woods and topple trees and remake the landscape I wonder what goes through Tommy’s mind. How exciting it must be to explore the changes.  🦊❤️

1760. wifi woes

 

the storms are all gone
power’s slowly returning
wifi woes abound 🦊❤️

Our area is still trying to reboot from the recent storms that ripped through Thursday night. The most popular conversation opening questions currently are “Do you have power?” and “Is your cable and wifi out?” 🦊❤️

1759. the seen and unseen

down in the holler
i see a deer… oh i mean two…
tip of the iceberg 🦊❤️

 I love standing and looking down into the dense wooded area behind my apartment. When I see one deer in the lush green, my experience is that if I just keep looking, more and more deer will magically appear! It like a tip of an iceberg. 🦊❤️

1758. figuring is fun

 


it is taking shape
i can almost hear the woosh
of its maiden flight 🦊❤️

I had a blast today creating jigs and fixtures to assist in assembling my first rocket. It brought back wonderful memories of my years at work developing adaptive fixtures for folks with disabilities so that they could perform work tasks. 🦊❤️

1757. intercession i say

 

in over my head
i prayed and you delivered
my wee miracle 🦊❤️

Today’s post is a special thank you 🙏 for paving the way  for what I choose to believe is my little miracle happening. Thank you… 🦊❤️

1756. it ain’t rocket science - yes it is!

 

aiming for the stars
tubes and nosecones and engines
it’s rocket science 🦊❤️

I’m in the process of constructing a pretty large (by my standards) model rocket. It is quite challenging and will require me to be more precise and use lots of  designing and craftsmanship skills that I normally don’t  use. Hoping to have it completed and ready for launching in early August.  3-2-1 blastoff. 🦊❤️

1755. “clamp-a-coin”

 

a fun father’s day
coins, grabber, cup and timer
we named it “clamp-a-coin” 🦊❤️

We spent Fathers’s Day with my son Kevin, his fiancé Hillary and her parents and brothers at my place. Kev treated everyone to Cheese Steaks from Chubby’s. The best part of the day was playing a game that Hillary invented today! It involves picking up coins with a long reach grabber tool and placing them in a cup. We timed each person to see who could do it the fastest. We played for a long time and the competitiveness grew the longer we played. We decided on the name “Clamp-a-Coin”. It will be a family tradition at future gatherings.  Fun-fun-fun!!!! 🦊❤️

1754. flag day

 

today is flag day
a gentle rain is falling
and the wind is still 🦊❤️

It is a busy day all over the world today. Flags of all types are flying. But today is Flag Day in the USA and I want to  thank law enforcement of all types (including my daughter) for their service on this busy day. 🦊❤️

1753. heroic traveler

 

as i take you in
i visualize your flights
through stormy weather 🦊❤️

We sat quietly near a pond.  The geese and their young ones were busy chomping grass and fighting over scraps of bread being thrown to them by  a woman and her granddaughter. This big old goose was grazing right at our feet. Oh how many miles have these feathers carried you?  🦊❤️

1752. twins divided

 

locked in a battle
using signs, flags and slogans
hatfields and mccoys 🦊❤️

I enjoy driving past a local twin home as the residents of each wage a battle of signs, flags and slogans. They are on polar opposite sides of about every issue.  The protracted war has been going on for years.  People are interesting. I wish I was a sign maker. I would be rich in this day of ideological warfare.  “A sign for every opinion” would be my motto. 🦊❤️

1751. yulan’s birthday

 

today’s your birthday
we’ll go and get long noodles
and wish for long life 🦊❤️

Happy - happy birthday sweetie! Thought I would celebrate by posting my favorite picture of you in the midst  of pretty colors of paint and papers.  All so very you! 🦊❤️

1750. komorebi illustrated

 

leaking through the leaves
bright sunlight shimmers and floats
it’s komorebi 🦊❤️

 Komorebi is a Japanese word that describes the dappled sunlight filtering through tree foliage. It essentially means "sunlight leaking through trees". It is a popular word in Japan and is often associated with feelings of peace, beauty, and tranquility. The dappled light and shadows created by komorebi can be found in various environments, from forests to gardens, and are often appreciated for their calming effect. 🦊❤️

1749. no time for goodbyes…

tender lovingness
bathes a sacred roadside shrine
no time for goodbyes… 🦊❤️

 Roadside shrines serve to remind me of two important facts of life and living. First, life is unpredictable. It may end at any moment, without warning and without the opportunity to say “goodbye”, “I’m sorry”, “I am proud of you” and most importantly, “I love you”.  Secondly, regardless of the circumstances that created the need to construct these shrines… innocent bystander or irresponsible behavior, someone is left behind. 🦊❤️

1748. paper moon magic

 

piercing through the trees
moonbeams joining with the light
of a paper moon 🦊❤️

“Paper moon”  generally signifies something that appears real or substantial but is actually fake, illusionary or temporary. None the less… captivating…🦊❤️

1747. rollin’ with the big guys

a tiny red cart
much smaller than the “ small carts”
rolls with the “large carts” 🦊❤️

 Some times silly little scenes show up that are just too special and deserve a haiku! 🦊❤️


1746. softball champions

 

softball champions
it was like mass on easter
the pews were jam packed 🦊❤️

Last night we attended our Granddaughter Aria’s Championship Softball game. They won!! Yippee. It was quite a different experience than other games this season when only a handful of fans were at the games. Last night the parking lots were overloaded and there wasn’t a square of grass available for latecomers to put their lawn chairs. It was like Mass on Easter Sunday where the usually empty pews are overflowing! 🦊❤️

1745. our neighborhood movie theater

 

poor humphry bogart
crying into his whiskey
“play it again sam” 🦊❤️

We are so lucky to have a not-for-profit movie theater only a few miles from us.  It presents a great selection of new, old, art, cult followed and documentary films. We live in an ideal area… 🦊❤️

1744. style

 

my how styles have changed
from baggy bells now skin tights
but denim lives on 🦊❤️

We sat and watched the cavalcade of styles stroll by. Denim will always be king in my opinion. 🦊❤️

1743. time in a laundromat

 

two boys being boys
another boy drifting off
waiting for clean clothes 🦊❤️

While killing some time before check in at our air b&b we decided to wash our muddy clothes at a laundromat in Middlebury Vermont early Sunday morning. It was quite an interesting place, even early Sunday morning. I especially liked the hypnotic sounds of the washers and dryers. Not so much the screeching sounds of two young boys standing on tables throwing soda bottles at each other.  🦊❤️

1742. trees can talk

 
in the green congestion
a gap suddenly appeared
space… just empty space 🦊❤️

We sat over our Sunday breakfast talking about life, living, obligation, responsibility, expectations, and what gets in the way of ease and freedom.  Then the trees joined the conversation. 🦊❤️

1741. “perfect days”

 

it’s a “perfect day”
a “b side” song by lou reed
now “a +” movie 🦊❤️

Last night we watched the movie “Perfect Days” for about the 10th time.  Aside from the Zen movie line, the sound track is amazing.  Especially the song “Perfect Day” from  Lou Reed’s 1970’s Transformer album. Check it out. 🦊❤️

1740. old faithful

 

faithful guardian
day and night - weather be damned
you sit at your post 🦊❤️

I swear that the cast iron dog featured in today’s post has the spirit of a real dog in its metallurgy. Every time I passed by I felt an aliveness to it presence. 🦊❤️

1739. time of our life

 

we sat in silence
our work was done - we rested
wrapped in gratitude 🦊❤️

After 10 grueling days at Infinitus 2025, we spent two days in a beautiful air b&b near the race venue to rest and relax and spend “quiet” time together. We talked a lot about gratitude and how fortunate we are in between the silence.  All that happened or didn’t happen at the race was dwarfed by the togetherness we shared for two days. 🦊❤️

1738. queen of origami

 

sitting on her throne
adorned by her latest works
“origami queen” 🦊❤️

The sun did not shine for even a moment on this rainy day, except for the smile on Yulan’s face as she sat in the midst of her latest origami creations that she had framed. 🦊❤️

1737. the ultimate destination

 

a trav’ler i’m not
when i do i always say…
“there’s no place like home” 🦊❤️

I’ll make this short and sweet, “There’s no place like home.” 🦊❤️

1736. life is a puddle

a lucky child learns
that life is a big puddle
meant to splash in 🦊❤️

My big take away from Infinitus 2025 came to me as I watched two beautiful children playing for ten days in pretty miserable conditions. The take away is that life is a big old puddle that offers us the choice of jumping around and splashing in it or to complain about it and do everything we can to avoid getting wet.  Congratulations Jordan and Ben for letting your children jump in that puddle and get plenty wet. 🦊❤️ 

1735. make believe

trekking poles churning
the finish line within sight
what dreams are made of… 🦊❤️

As her mom was completing the last marathon of her gold medal victory in the  Infinitus Deca Marathon event (a marathon a day for ten consecutive days) her daughter is busy winning her own gold medal having fun! 🦊❤️

 



1734. go find some inspiration

 

through rain, mud and cold
they walked two days and two nights
inspiration reigns 🦊❤️

At Infinitus the 100 mile trail event has a cutoff time of exactly 48 hours. Mud, rain and cold reigned at this year’s event. Dipak and Satya hiked the entire event rather than running. They suffered pretty significantly during the last overnight 18 mile stretch of the 100 miles. They finished, dead last, mud soaked and cold an hour before the cutoff time of 8:00 AM. Only a handful of people were still at the finish.  It was the most inspirational moment of the 10 day Infinitus experience. Inspiration is out there to - go find it. 🦊❤️

1733. that’s all folks

 

all the running’s done
some crossed the line… some did not
that’s the way it goes 🦊❤️

We just spent ten days at the Infinitus 2025 where victory and defeat played out in the most dramatic ways on muddy and flooded mountain trails of Ripton Vermont. Another year of inspiration and insanity in the books. That’s all folks. 🦊❤️

1732. walter - portable sunshine

 

in the pouring rain
walter moves from here to there
bringing his sunshine 🦊❤️

Another raw day in the neighborhood. To make it “ok”, Walter the dog moves from one rain drenched person to another to deliver a ray of sunshine… 🦊❤️

1731. warm smiles

rain, cold, wind and snow
not a place to warm ones’s bones
gotta keep smiling 🦊❤️

We we spending time in a setting where the weather is unseasonably cold and it has been raining daily and now snowing in some locations and there is no heat in any of the facilities. It makes smiles all the warmer to get and give.  🦊❤️

 

1730. reflection on progress

 

perc joe to k-cups
poles and wires now satellites 
phones that make us “smart” 🦊❤️

As I wandered around I saw my reflection in the grimy window of a barn. Upon second look, in the photo I saw not a grimy selfie, but a curious window illustrating “progress” of various types. 🦊❤️

1729. waiting for a sign

 

sleek tongues of flame dance
embers erupt and crackle
i wait for a sign 🦊❤️

When I watch flames dancing, it seems so mysterious that I expect to have a moment of enlightenment at any second. 🦊❤️ 

1728. deep cleaning

 

clothes and souls get stained
that’s why there are laundromats
and confessionals 🦊❤️ 

I am away for a few days and have been using a local laundromat to wash very muddy clothing. It is very meditative watching the water churn and go from brown to clear. Gets me thinking…🦊❤️ ( This post is actually Monday’s as the internet was not available yesterday.) 

1727. fork in the road

 

a fork in the road
i ask, “which way should i go?”
it said, “ ask the spoon!” 🦊❤️

Just a little humor… 🦊❤️

1726. just early morning

 

owls exchanging hoots
the moon shining like the sun
outside my window 🦊❤️

Nothing to say.  Just a nice morning photo to share. 🦊❤️

1725. always present…

 

as morning rolls in
the moon becomes a sliver
behind the rain clouds 🦊❤️

It is fascinating to know that behind the transient clouds of weather (and life), the moon, stars, sun and planets are still in place and doing just fine… 🦊❤️

1724. tea time

 

as the sun goes down
we sit sipping cups of tea
letting time zoom by 🦊❤️

A cup of tea is the antidote for time that just won’t stand still. 🦊❤️

1723. magic village

a magic village
nestled near a crooked road
rain… and it was gone 🦊❤️

 I could not help but stop and allow myself to meander through the little chalk drawing village that the children had created outside of a local childcare center.  I was tempted to walk along the crooked road they had constructed to take a closer look. Soon the rains came… and it was gone. 🦊❤️