1171. old school linemen

 

long before buckets

linemen wore spikes to climb high

tool belts a clangin’ 🦊❤️

I’m a telephone pole watcher. When I see an old one I like to inspect all of the little metal tags on them. What years they were inspected and treated for termites. In some cases when they were installed. Old abandoned signs and staples rusting away. What really brings back great memories of long ago are the spike holes on the poles that were left by linemen who used to climb these poles using spikes that were attached to the inside edge of their heavy boots. They would shimmy up the pole, being stabilized by a leather strap that they wrapped around the pole. Every time they would raise a boot and implant their spike, their tool belts would clatter. As a little kid I was so in awe of these guys. I guess I still am.  🦊❤️

1170. land of haiku

 

japanese maples

create a poetic place

with rhymes of color

 🦊❤️

There is a section of trails where I hike that is just loaded with Japanese Maples of all sizes.  It is especially beautiful at this time of year as they shed their leaves to weave a crimson carpet. It is fertile ground for inspiring haiku. 🦊❤️

1169. holding on for dear life

 

when the waters rage

stubborn roots hold on for life

won’t be washed away 🦊❤️

I love looking at tree roots. I especially love tree roots that are on the banks of creeks that rush and rise whenever the rains fall and snows melt. Water, the expert carver of earth, brings to the surface the hard work that tree roots do to stay anchored into Mother Earth. 🦊❤️

1168. my nightly visitor

 

every night at dark

you bunk on your special limb

puffed like a down vest 🦊❤️

Since the weather has turned cold at night, a bird perches on the exact same branch, in the exact same spot from sundown to sunrise in the tree right outside of my living room window. The bird puffs up its feathers to create warmth like in a down vest. It turns its head to the side and tucks its neck in tight to its chest. So many little interesting things waiting to be seen with the inquiring eye.   🦊❤️

1167. warrior roses

 

twenty-nine degrees

the warrior rose still red

ready to let go 🦊❤️

As I headed off to the trails I stopped to admire a lingering cluster of roses shivering in the sub-freezing morning  air. They had done their work of smelling nice and looking pretty well beyond what was required of them. Now they seemed ready to simply let go… 🦊❤️

1166. travel advisory

 

trails once clearly marked

now a whiteout of colors

snowstorm of leaves 🦊❤️

Fall is probably the most enchanting time of the year to be in the woods with all of the crisp colors, smells and sounds. It is also the time of year when watching your step on the leaf covered trails is really important!! Roots and walnuts under leaf cover are killers!!! 🦊❤️ 

1165. heavenly meadow

bright sun’s at my back

morning moon lingers ahead

heavenly morning 🦊❤️

There is NOTHING like a meadow on a crisp morning. While all is dying… the life of the meadow has never been so alive.  🦊❤️