1892. one with the earth again

 

among black walnuts

a regal red fox did lie

both return to earth 🦊❤️

The overnight claimed the life of a beautiful red fox. It lied on a bed of leaves and black walnuts that had fallen from the tree above it. I picked the regal creature up, he felt quite heavy, and I placed him in the nearby woods. There the earth will reclaim him, and will use him to feed all around him. The circle of life… 🦊❤️

1891. fishing for peace

 

knee deep in silence

cast after cast after cast

peace is in patience 🦊❤️

I stood quietly watching a lone fisherman fly fishing in the creek. He was practicing patience in peace. I was taken by his solitary practice. Then I realized suddenly that my standing quietly watching him fishing was also a practice of patience in peace. He was waiting patiently to catch a fish… and I was patiently waiting for him to catch a fish. It was a peaceful few moments. I hope he caught one…🦊❤️ 

1890. mantra of modernity

 

pruned year after year

“make space for modernity”

the mantra drones on 🦊❤️

I could not help but notice the degree to which a tree had been pruned to make room for homes, roads and expansion of society. There is a certain dignity that this tree has in its “truncated state”. 🦊❤️

1899. wind

windy,  windy day

working so hard to set free

all the hanging leaves 🦊❤️

Today the wind is working overtime!!! 🦊❤️
 

1898. a tree of tommy’s colors

black gum tupelo

a tree of tommy’s colors

braves its first winter 🦊❤️

A Black Gum Tupelo tree has been planted in Tommy’s memory near one of his favorite “perching trees” near the nature center. In fall, it displays colors that match Tommy’s beautiful coat. As the cold weather rolls in, Yulan and I often say, “Well at least Tommy doesn’t have to brave the cold nights and we don’t have to worry about him keeping warm in winter. “ Now it’s his memorial tree’s job to brave the cold and to keep on growing. 🦊❤️ 

1897. at the curb

 

four forlorn rockers

i wonder how many joys and woes

that you have rocked through? 🦊❤️

I have s soft spot for household/family items left curbside for either disposal or best case scenario, trash picked by a new owner who will give them a new family to serve.  I hope these four rocking chairs find a nice new home to rock in. 🦊❤️

1896. pretty as a picture

 

at the museum

she’s pretty as a picture

matching colors too 🦊❤️

Yesterday we went to the Michener Museum in Doylestown to see and exhibit of  Peter Paone works with our friends Gloria and Rachael. We took pictures of each other standing beside paintings that matched our clothing colors. Yulan looked especially good beside this painting featuring colorful snails, slugs and asparagus. 🦊❤️

1895. wonder

 

a dose of wonder

can be found by looking up

any time of day 🦊❤️

Even sitting in your car for 1/2 hour waiting for a store to open can be wonder filled. 🦊❤️

1894. the gift of warmth

 

the boiler heats up

the temperatures plummet

i am warm… grateful 🦊❤️

I was once impervious to the grip of cold temperatures. Not only impervious… but eager to engage with it and conquer it - to conquer myself. Now as an old man… I grow more and more grateful for the many forms of warmth in my life. 🦊❤️

1893. word woes

 

hurts come big and small

their fixes come big and small

words hurt worst of all 🦊❤️

More and more I am convinced that “words” are responsible for far greater pain and suffering in society than actual illness, accidents, war, etc. “Words” can  hurt directly as well as indirectly when they lead to unintended/intended hurtful consequences. If we want peace and tranquility…we need to be mindful of the potential consequences of our words. Just sayin… 🦊❤️

1892. our sunday routine

 

on sunday morning

a railman tends the tracks in

deshler ohio 🦊❤️

Our Sunday morning routine is we have pancakes and bacon after I attend to my dog walking gig. We eat and watch the trains on the live remote camera in the small town of Deshler, Ohio. Today we had the special treat of watching a rail worker fixing a track switch. A very peaceful way to start the day. 🦊❤️

1891. a second chance to shine on?

just hangin’ around

waiting for a second chance

to light up the world 🦊❤️

 We visited one of Yulan’s favorite thrift shops yesterday because she needed more yarn for an afghan she is working on. I could not help but stand and at stare at a metallic colored jacket that was hanging on a rack like a fallen star. I thought about who the owner must have been. Why did she donate it to the thrift shop? Will it ever get a second chance to shine again out there in the sky of life? 🦊❤️

1890. remembering homer gaut

 

up in that garret…

a musician? maybe writer?

maybe a lonely man? 🦊❤️

When I was growing up, there was an old man who lived alone in the garret of a house on my street. He was different in many ways and often was teased by kids because of his odd behaviors. He used to go door to door and sell greeting cards to people. When I passed his garret  I would often hear classical music bring played on his record player. He loved music and I found out later that he was a good piano player. I also discovered he had rheumatic fever as a child which resulted in his many different behaviors. I also learned that he graduated from college and received a degree in a field related to music.   There were many wild rumors that swirled around about Homer, but none of them were true.   Every time I see lights on in a garret, I think of him and the mystery surrounding him and that I wish that I had gotten to know him better.  🦊❤️

1889. private screening

 

every seat empty

except for the two we filled

we broke every rule 🦊❤️

Last evening we went to our little local theater to see “Nouvelle Vague”, a drama directed by Richard Linklater about the making of Jean Luc Godard’s “Breathless”. It was a subtitled french film shot in black and white  using Godard’s groundbreaking style that launched the “New Wave” film style. We were the only people who attended the show and we broke every rule regarding courteous movie attending. We used our cell phones, we talked out loud, Yulan asked a staff member to turn the movie’s volume down, I went up to the screen while Yulan took photos of me in ridiculous poses, etc.  It was another page in our book of “fun things we did” along the way…. 🦊❤️

1888. reddest of red

red is red is red

but there is the reddest red

the king of all reds 🦊❤️

Now is the time of year that all of the tiny Japanese Maple trees that are hidden here and there throughout the trails suddenly explode into bursts of  brilliant color and their secret locations are revealed. 🦊❤️

 

1887. look at that!

 

streaking through the green

a contrail of bright colors

caused us to halt… “look!” 🦊❤️

Yulan had just commented that the woods and trails were put here by God so that we would enjoy looking at them. Such a simple declaration made total sense to me. A short time later a brilliant tail of colors from a Japanese Maple comet that was streaking through the trees roared by. 🦊❤️

1886. savoring

 

as light as pure air

limoncello layer cake

lost in savoring 🦊❤️

We attended a memorial luncheon in a small, quaint, Italian restaurant yesterday. I think it was the best food I have ever eaten. I am not a “foodie”. I eat plainly and am not a raver about food I’ve eaten. But yesterday was different and the pinnacle of my raving was the limoncello layer cake. I found myself sitting between bites in a savoring daze, wishing that the piece of heavenly cake would last forever. 🦊❤️

1885. picture perfect

the perfect picture

a black cat and a pumpkin

so halloweeny 🦊❤️

 We coaxed and coaxed a friendly black cat we encountered to stand near a pumpkin. No luck… until we walked away then she sidled up to the pumpkin.  Just like a cat!!! 🦊❤️

1884. all saints day

 

maybe we’ll be saints

if we just love our neighbor 

as we love ourselves? 🦊❤️

Today is All Saints Day that remembers souls who have been elevated to proclaimed Sainthood by their good deeds, sufferings and miracles attributed to them after their deaths. Today is a great day to practice to be a Saint no matter how unsung. 🦊❤️