Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Springtime Amazement



Springtime is my season of amazement.

How can the sky be so blue
The mountains be so white
And the valley by so green?
Photograph by Tom Selfridge
There is a perfect line
Marking the change from snow to rain.

How can one little seed
Now burrowed in soil
Grow into a green stem
And create abundant colors, beauty
And flavors?

How can the icy fresh cold water
Find its way
Along the lovely streams and rivers
So abundant
In our hills and valley?
How can the green leaves
Tucked in their pods
Suddenly pop out
So large and colorful
From bare to abundant in just days?

How can the warm sun
Soak so thoroughly
Into my bare skin
After a winter where
Warmth felt so far away?

How can wildflowers emerge
In so many varieties
And vibrant colors.
One day there is nothing
And the next, fields of wonder.

The symmetry, freshness and beauty of spring.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Friday, April 22, 2011

Ode to Skeena

You put her on a leash they said?
It can't be done.
I didn't want to have to tell Steve
Lying on a hospital bed
That I lost his dog

So we waited to trust each other
Skeena Peena, where are you
Hiding under the desk upstairs
Skeena Peena, where are you
Tucked under the kitchen table
Skeena Peean, where are you
Waiting at the front gate
To go for a run

The leash now is in the past
She runs and runs
Through the culverts
Disappearing until she
Reaches the other side of the street
Chasing after bumblebees
She leaps in the air
Scouting after bunnies and birds
She scooches under fences
Not catching that I can see
But having a great time
I can hear the water splash in the
Wet fields
She is a mess of mud and dirt
Oh Skeena, you make me smile


Today's Rainbow

As I drove down
into the valley
this morning,
A rainbow
Laid down it's colors
Atop the trees
Painting them
With all its beauty
Stretched out
Over the forest

And I remember
Once again
God's promises
And for this
I am grateful

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Do You Ever

Do you ever have a day when you realize
about half way through

that not only is your shirt on backwards
but your pants may be too?

Monday, April 18, 2011

Go Away Bat

There is a bat hanging out on the wall outside our bedroom.  It's driving me nuts and just won't go away.  Supposedly it can eat thousands of mosquitoes a night (barely a dent in the number that seem to be in the area during this very wet spring), and, as long as you do not touch one, they are quite good to have around.  All that noted, I simply do not want him there.

It was Saturday when Tom said he had something to show me.  I saw the glint in his eye and immediately new I could be in trouble.  "Inside or out?"  was my only question and resolved whether or not I wanted to see what it could be.  Things have a way of sticking with me, scary movies, all sorts of frightening images.  Yet, on the other hand I have a fascination for little creatures and such.  "Yes, I want to see it."  For some reason it makes all of the difference where it is located.  I have zero tolerance for creatures, other than my pups inside the house.  Out in the forest is another matter.  Here I am fascinated by what I can find.  In my yard is often okay, but too close to the house and it is borderline.  One of the things that actually attracted me to this house was that there is no attic space and no crawl space under the house (the one area that just gave me the willies to think about at my last home).

Out the door we went and there, just outside, was a bat.  I got close enough to study its big ears, and its furry mouse-like body with wings.  Rather fascinating, I thought.

I wasn't so interested in it when I saw it was in the same place yesterday and today I am quite annoyed.  It just won't go away, but hangs upside down in the same place above our bedroom window.  I've tried banging on the wall, shining a flashlight and other things that I read about doing, to no avail.  There he lies, sleeping all day.  Ugh!  Go away, please!


Thursday, April 14, 2011

Old Man

Battling with his self
A body that seems not his own
Wise in ways I know not yet
He sits by the fire and rocks

Does he dream of older days
Or of what may soon come
Does he live with regret,
With hope, with fear?

No family nearby
But friends he did not
Know of are abundant
He is cared for
But wants it not

Capability and self sufficiency
Have suddenly disappeared
And what is he left with
But his thoughts
And frustrations

I wonder if he can leave them
And embrace this quieter
Time of his life
Still offering much
But so different than before.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Is it Possible


Is it possible
That I could be so excited
Over a stem so small
I can hardly see that it is
Green

I wondered, yet I trusted,
That the seeds
No bigger than tiny flakes
Tucked in the brown fertile soil
Would grow

And though I can take no
More credit than
Giving them a home
And keeping them wet
I had almost given up
But

As of this morning
There are seven little sprouts

It's hard to imagine
They will grow so big
Enough to carry heavy fruits
Yet

I can see them now
My sweet tomatoes
Orange, red, plump
Tasty

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Spring!

Yesterday
On a patch of ground
Not covered with snow
I saw the first sign of spring
In our garden
New life
Hollyhock leaves
Have sprung forth
And remind me
That a new season
Has begun
Fresh life
Beginnings
Again
And my heart is cheered