Sunday, December 20, 2020

Red amongst red

 


Tis been a hectic year, actually the last two have been years from Hades and finally, o so finally I’m in a place of such peace. I feel free to finally say FU to demands and am working an almost normal schedule.

I never lost my camera and my love of capturing life, especially in my garden. That will never happen. And so reviewing a lot of photos I am catching up with my posts.

Now this wee red rodent was a bane in me backside. The feeder was empty and so he decided to spend his time in one of the Begonia’s which was soon trashed from his digging.

Salvaged as it was I trimmed it and it’s now residing sleeping in the basement. Will it survive? Of course! I am a believer after all.


Saturday, December 19, 2020

winter creek - haiku


 

the creeks mid-current

maintains its flow during freeze

soon a skating trail

Friday, December 11, 2020

the lost battle

 

the battle between old man winter
and the goddess of the harvest
has ended, he being the victor,
her cloak of vibrant golds
now lay broken and soon
to be tossed into compost piles,
at least her remnants of life
will be renewed in spring
while his will be scorned and cursed
throughout the months to come.


Friday, December 04, 2020

Decembers Arrival

December has arrived,

the month of blinding white

and colourful lights,

heralding the silly season.


After the first snow fall

rain began turning the landscape

to a dirt brown,

reflecting the sky in its dreariness.


Though there is hope

with neighbours dressing their trees,

stringing multicoloured lights

the old kind, huge incandescent bulbs.


My planters are stuffed with boughs

of pine, spruce, cedar, and hemlock

grown in local fields,

their green brilliance remains.


Sprigs of red berries, red Dogwood,

and golden balls and pine-cones

intertwined with dried floral garland ,

full fill the arrangements.


Even though it may be a long winter,

and while we need colour, we also need life,

thus the planters will see me through

them being a harbinger of spring.


Saturday, November 28, 2020

Christmas Tree Reused

This is what do ya do with a 25 year old faux Christmas tree gathering dust in the basement?  Well ya haul it up, wrap it in every outdoor light of the same vintage you can find,  drag it into the middle of the garden, weigh the base down with boulders and wait for the white shite to arrive. We all need sparkle in our lives now more than ever.



Sunday, November 22, 2020

autumn crime scene - haiku

 

killer frost leaves stains

of spent blooms upon the floor

an autumn crime scene


Saturday, November 21, 2020

Cheers to the Season

 

Cheers to the season

while the garden of greens

faded to hues of honey

and carmel, the final sweetness.


Cheers to the season,

the Pond remained covered

in lotus and lettuce

protected by my forest.


Cheers to the season,

as winter birds moved in,

caroling their happy songs

scouting newly set bird feeders.


Cheers to the season,

Gus the Asparagus fern

continues his growth residing

in his winter residence.


Cheers to the season,

now a memory

and dreams of spring

banish thoughts of winter.

Friday, October 30, 2020

Colours of life

 


first flakes of snow

cling to leaves of red

tis a warning 

of winter soon to arrive,

for now I smile at the colours

the colours of life,

then soon sadness will descent

when colours fade into death


Friday, October 16, 2020

Field of Stars

 

I relish in their lights

this night of chill.

Oliver Schroer is reverberating

through my home

capturing the wonderment

of celestial life.

I miss our missives,

as I do so many lost friends

but the chorus of his violin

from an ancient sanctuary

provides me solace...

Friday, October 09, 2020

Shall we dance...

 

Shall we dance

you and I.


I see your

sideways glances

when we pass.

With lowered eyes,

are you reflecting

when we share

thoughts of life;

are you reflecting

on what could be

a peaceful life;

are you reflecting

on the now, the future,

our lives together.

You’ve made

your intentions known

and yet I waver,

are they for me

or an excuse

validating your

leaving someone else

for reasons known

only to yourself.


Shall we dance

you and I,


Shall we dance...


Saturday, September 26, 2020

autumns coronation


autumns coronation has begun

as maple, walnut and oak

are crowned in gold, rubies and copper;

their patchwork cloaks are

donning slowly, the richness

of summer emerald greens

surrender to the alchemy of autumn,

exploding into vermilion, umber and citrine

completing their transformation

before they fade, fall and form

into botanical skeletons

before the freeze of winter

paints its dismal landscape 

Saturday, September 05, 2020

puckered - haiku

 


puckered Hosta leaves

countless delicate stitches

in natures patterns


Saturday, August 22, 2020

tree frogs - haiku



this night air is filled
with the chorus of tree frogs,
their songs give me sleep


Friday, August 14, 2020

Allow


Allow this cool breeze
to sweep over me as a silk scarf
tickled my warm skin
and I smile, once I loved

Allow this brilliant sun
to shine through trees
while loosing their leaves
only to find me in its spotlight

Allow the clear north air
to blow out its dampness
and allow my lungs
to inhale its freshness

Allow squirrels of grey, red and black
to chase each other and
fallen walnuts without spending
the day splayed upon fence-tops

Allow these tired eyes
watch light play in the garden
highlighting this and that
while earth revolves

Allow my ears to enjoy the chimes
stroked softly by the breeze
without interference of mowers and saws,
all I ask
is to hear their calming notes

Friday, August 07, 2020

frog song - haiku


the chorus begins
I have yearned to hear voices
singing in the night

At last the frog song has begun...

Friday, July 10, 2020

Grandmother Toad


She arrived weeks ago
a slim, speckled, creature
hopping about, surveying her domain.

Her appearance was willy-nilly
days without once a sighting,
then evenings with just a glimpse.

Today was an off day
and spent it in the garden
trimming and transplanting.

The Pond needed topping off
thrilled to see Grandmother Toad
washing up on to the frog dock.

Rest of the day was spent
from the Pond and the garden.
O such a wiley one is she.

Patrolling for bugs, savouring slugs
returning for one last supper
then disappearing in to the garden.



Friday, June 12, 2020

heritage garden - haiku


phlox and hollyhocks
cabbage roses and lilies
heritage garden

Friday, June 05, 2020

Yellow Trillium


I have coddled you for years
in anticipation of your bloom
O yellow one, a sign, any sign of life

This year you presented yourself,
and what I yearned for most,
a blossom, a bloom, a Hello!

I adore your ethereal colour
transparent in sunlight, amongst violets,
above your earthly spotted leaves

Do not feel so alone Jaune,
two kin now share your shady home,
for me teach them how to bloom next year





Friday, May 08, 2020

Flower Full Moon


In the garden I stand shivering
while sleep escapes me,
I stare at the full moon.

Its purity of colour reflects
upon still water of the Pond,
and calmness surrounds me.

Once again I burrow
under warmed ancient quilts
and I surrender to dreams.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Seeking solace


What does one write in this time of strife. Do I write about the garden wakening in hues of blue and yellow? Of the earth warming as sprouts of Bloodroot and Bleeding Hearts break through reminding me there will be spring; buds on maples, lilacs, and apples while I seek solace in my garden; it grounds me and I feel a genuine part of life.

Now more than ever I need that solace. I need sun, sprouts, and birdsong. I need those, while taking calls from employees totally lost, seeking someone to guide them. I didn’t sign up for that and could say “it’s not my job” but I can’t. That’s not whom I am. And so I talk and listen to their crying and do my best to help them. But it takes a toll.

Life is cruel at this moment but honestly, it’s been a long time coming. We, humans, have poisoned the earth for hundreds of years, and I believe it’s pay back time. Governments and big business have waved aside the consequences of neglect for decades. I pity children and what they will need to endure in the following decades. It won’t be pleasant.

This is about political as I will ever post. ~sigh~ my mind can’t format haiku or sonnets, or even a bright post. My paints lay, abandoned. Scribblings remain unfinished in the journal. My focus is unfocused. I have faith that this will too pass while I putter in the earth...


Thursday, March 26, 2020

silence


there is a silence upon the earth,
families are sheltered in homes
not daring to step out
unless a need for provisions.

education is left to parents
reviewing letters and numbers,
over and over, how to sign your name,
pencil scribbling between lines.

walkers and runners step forth
on my street, gauging the 6’ distance
while waving and nodding
those brave to exit their safe net.

us “essential services” employees
attend work, ready to give the hex sign
of back off at a moments notice,
tis tiring being ever alert.

my brain is vacant, as is my body,
while I feel for those without a daily job
to attend to, do they feel the same
for us keeping the lines open?

I enjoy this silence, lack of traffic
in my town, allowing me to travel
from home to work to home
in record time, in silence...

Thursday, March 12, 2020

March Full Moon


leaving before sunrise
the full moon of March
silenced my steps,

with a charcoal grey sky
as a back-drop, the moon
o that glorious moon

shimmered in gold,
its roundness softened
blending into the sky

I gasped not just at the view
but the morning sky in its
ominous tone...

and then freezing rain fell

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Robin of Red-breast



Your early morning song
greeted me the past week,
such a heart warming
to the start of the day.

Today in brilliant sunshine
I watched you in the apple tree
serenading the neighbourhood
with your song of spring.

Sing on Robin of Red-breast
lighten the day with joy
as we struggle with winters end
which can’t come too soon.

Friday, February 28, 2020

wild water - haiku



wild water giggles
while its blanket of ice thaws
warming in sunshine

Friday, February 21, 2020

Fluffle


Well before the day wakes
I follow tracks across the front yard,
paw prints back and forth
create a trail over snowbanks
onto mine and neighbours property.

The o so familiar pattern broken
by dropped berries makes me smile,
already aware of the den under the veranda,
yet I worry for them as I’ve seen their enemies
seeking substance before light of day.

In darkness I leave for work
the cars headlights shine on movement
hopping across the street
not one, not two, but three!
the fluffle of bunnies are alive and well.


Saturday, February 15, 2020

Snow Full Moon



Snow Full Moon rises over the river
its glow illuminates my home,
her bitter cold causes freshly fallen snow
to appear as sharply cut diamonds
creating an other-worldly sparkle
upon the landscape where soft flakes
once fell in silence and now
the crispness of the night echos underfoot
while the lone walker breaths
in her own silence of wonderment
while gazing at heavens presence on earth

Friday, January 31, 2020

Month end - Haiku


three days balancing,
such time wasted when five years
past, ink will have faded

A different subject from traditional haiku but this week has been nasty. O Calgon take me away and let me create again. We put such burden on ourselves to have a balanced month end but in reality, will it matter in five years. I doubt that but I continue to push myself to have those cells neatly fill themselves and smile when the pluses equate to the negatives.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Canvas - Haiku



another weekend
smothered in white shite and ice
lends to ponderings

ponderings in paint
white banished from the canvas
while I swirled pigments

pigments born from earth
green, cream, auburn, gold and grey
relive gardens life

Friday, January 17, 2020

Encrusted - Haiku


free flowing water
in a snow encrusted creek
carves own formation 

Friday, January 10, 2020

Bitter north winds blow


Bitter north winds blow
scattering the cloak of clouds,
revealing night skies
gown of cosmic crystals

Hhmmm, I could have written a more ethereal verse but for the phone calls.

A quiet night with Celtic radio turned low, wrapped in warm clothes and a steaming nutty tea. Soon after curling into my favourite chair it was evident there would be no peace from outside disturbances.

First off Det. Michael Cooper from CRA warning me I was about to be arrested for a “compromised number”. After his pre-recorded threats outlining the penalties of not calling his number and providing government issued ID, he had the gaul to wish me a *blessed day*. Seriously? How do people fall for such a scam.

After the blue air cleared from cursing I settled once more and not 20 minutes later, the phone rang. ~sigh~ Who knows someone may have passed so I answered with *speak! * Laughter on the other end saying “having a bad day” drew me back to earth. He knows me too well.

So I will revisit this missive and have another go once my head has cleared.