April 30, 2015

Today: Bird Song... - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...


A Beginning & An Ending...


Each evening


Just before night falls,
In the silent darkness,
A solitary robin chirps...
The final notes
Of a day's bird song.


Each morning


With the first, faint glimmers of returning light,
In the silent darkness,
A solitary robin sings...
The first notes
Of a day's choral symphony of bird song.


SPRING!


This Post's Flavor(s): poetry, music, beginning/ending
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April 21, 2015

Today: Sun & Shadow... - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...

Light & Dark - Sun & Shadow... 


This morning - The Sunny Side:


What magic!
A plant...
Who sprouts forth
With fresh, new growth
From the ashes of
Last year's dried, dead leaves...


This afternoon - The Shadow Side:

I face the reality that in the outside world I inhabit, this wonderful, feeling magic only happens sometimes... Sometimes things stop unexpectedly, mid-stream and die... sometimes things are still born... sometimes they look oh SO full of promise, but ARE empty or dead...

Sometimes... Sometimes I don't feel happy or wonderful... sometimes I feel tired, sad or frightened...
Sometimes...


This Post's Flavor(s): poetry, gardening, human, small, process

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April 17, 2015

Today: Appreciation... - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...

Thoughts on Appreciation & Gratitude:


Today I'm reminded that I don't really appreciate a benefit until I've managed to do without for a time.  I feel this with my apartment after being "homeless"; living in women's shelters for three and a half years and today I feel this with my bedroom window...

I've just fixed this window for the summer... I know this doesn't sound like much, but it makes a big difference to me.  This window is HUGE occupying almost the entire west wall of my small bedroom.  The bitterly cold. winter winds and the blisteringly hot, afternoon, summer sun beat in mercilessly. The frame is warped so it doesn't either open or close properly, allowing both wind and flies to wander through at will. A real window which works doesn't seem to be in the cards for me, so I've jury-rigged a solution which is more air tight but still allows me to open part of the window in summer and close it in winter... 


Two years ago I covered half of the window with some cardboard covered on the outside with plastic bubble wrap and finished with aluminum foil.  Once this was caulked in place, it made an enormous difference to both the amount of heat in the summer and cold in winter.  


This past autumn I manufactured a fix for the part of the window which can still be opened and closed, even if it doesn't do these things very well.  To a wood frame, from some old quarter round molding I found in the basement, I added some more bubble wrap with scrunched up plastic bags taped along the edges. Using thumb tacks and more molding to hold it in place, this pressure fit into the opening not too badly. This winter was a REAL test and it worked pretty well.


This spring I added another piece of cardboard finished with foil on the outside, to fit next to the piece of cardboard which was already in place.  I'm in the process of doing artwork on the bedroom side, so it will look OK.  


Just now, I've removed the bubble wrapped frame from the part which opens and closes and stored it behind the cardboard piece I added this spring.  I then added a dark, bamboo shade with heavy drapery behind.  The bamboo, by itself, I think will work well to block the street lights at night while allowing air to flow through and I can pull the drapery behind it when I want to block the hot afternoon sun...  I'm planning another piece of artwork to use at the top for a valance over the entire window frame... someday...


Although what I've done functions more or less acceptably and will eventually look fine once the artwork is "finished", I know if a REAL window is ever in the cards for me, I'll appreciate its functionality, in a way I never could have before... Having done without, I won't be taking it for granted...
This Post's Flavor(s): difficulty/pleasure, human, small, process
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April 11, 2015

Today: Winds of Change - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...-


Change...  stepping into the unknown... 



All night long
The winds of change
Rattled my windows
And howled through the pine boughs
This morning...
After a late start
I begin an unplanned day...


This Post's Flavor(s): poetry, human, small, process

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April 6, 2015

Today: Spring Takes Its Time... - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...


Spring's - A Process: 


Jack Frost is back...
With more delicate art work 
For my windows...
I work on my table top
While
Wondering which plants
To start for my garden...





This Post's Flavor(s): poetry, gardening, beginning/ending, process
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April 3, 2015

Today: Beginning of Spring... - To Fall Like A Drop Of Rain...


 Signs of Spring...



It seems the waters of March run a little late this year - in April....

Yesterday, the first of the Spring birds arrived... A cloud of male grackles and red-winged blackbirds descended out of nowhere.  sporting bright, new, breeding plumage, they were busy practicing their songs in readiness for the arrival of the females... 

They reminded me of young teenagers, arriving separately for a dance... The girls anxiously casting sidelong glances at the boys, while absently twittering together.  Their attention clearly focused on the boys, rather than on their conversation... The boys talking together in their own separate group, regarding the girls with equal nervousness...  All were wanting to "dance", but unsure of the steps or the outcome... 

Watching the birds yesterday, I wondered if rather than birds and animals being like people, as I've so often thought before, it isn't the other way around.... Perhaps it's people who are like animals and birds..... Hmmmm......

Now, today a Spring day AT LAST!  In the lee of the wind, I don't even need a coat!  After the long, cold winter, I'm VERY hungry for some sun... I soak it in while drying my hair in its warmth...

Most things in my garden look quite dead.... I'm hoping the lovage, lemon balm and sorrel have made it through the harsh winter, but for now, I see no signs of life...  However, the thyme and savory still look green, so I think they've survived......  

This Post's Flavor(s): gardening, human, small, process

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