MORE MAGNETIC POETRY

still playing with the   magnetic poetry

garden blossoms

are summer's fashion

they dance in rhythm

with playful passion

through brilliant sun

and graceful moon

their music lives

and ends too soon

okay, kinda cheezeee--but here's another...

TASTE THE STORM

You play your galoshes

Through rain puddles

And taste the storm

That drips from your cheek.

 Sky rivers wet your hair

As tiny streams

Slip through the mud

To the sea.

BLOOMIN' SNOW!!!

I KNOW it snows here in May.  It snows here in JUNE!

So it's too cold for sandals.

And I've put away my snow boots.

So I'm wearin' THESE!

Bloomin' crappy weather!

NOW YOU SEE IT...

Creatures around here are a little camera shy. You’d think they were movie stars hiding from paparazzi. As soon as they discover I’m pointing a camera their direction, they do their best to disappear.

The neighbor’s cat was out hunting when I tried to take her picture.

If she was green she would have blended right in.

Several pairs of mallard ducks have been spending time along the river.

As soon as they saw me watching

they moved into the brush along the bank.

I couldn’t figure out what this was.

Stump? Pile of dead leaves?

Then it moved. Rock chuck a.k.a. groundhog. He saw me taking pictures…

and headed for his house in a heap of construction debris.

The hooded mergansers farther down the river didn’t even try to hide.

They hauled themselves across the water…

and flat out left.

This one is a little tricky. Do you see anything here?

Look again.

How about now?

Now you see him.

Now you don’t.

RIDE AFTER THE RAIN

By morning the spring rain had moved on. The clouds still hung misty low on the tops of the hills. There were no leaves yet, but the branches were lined with crystal droplets holding surrounding shapes and colors in their mirrors. Not even a whiff of breeze moved the air. Scents were sharpened and intense.

It was perfect weather for a bicycle ride; although still cool enough that I needed heavy gloves and layers to hold in heat. The street traffic was light and I was soon spinning along the bike path by the river.

I am hazard to be around when I walk with a camera—stopping in my tracks, kneeling, bending, climbing fences. So I left the Nikon at home when I went on my bicycle. I‘ll just have to tell you what I saw and toss in a few photographs from my archives.

But first I must tell you about what I could smell. As I rode down the streets there were the scents of laundry in the dryers, breakfast bacon, fresh aromas from the bakery and the petroleum smell of passing autos. Away from the road I could tell a skunk had awakened from hibernation and had been out exploring. There was the fragrance of wet grass, soggy leaves and soften soil. A tang of sage and mint lifted by the river.

I cruised down the path behind a new development of offices, some still under construction, and came to an immediate stop when I saw a large dark something standing in the way. Too small for a horse, to long-legged for a cow; it was a young moose, his coat almost black. He was browsing on freshly planted trees by a building. His huge hooves left platter-sized prints in the mulch that had been carefully arranged in the landscape. He saw me waiting and left his tasty breakfast to wander off into the cottonwoods.

I crossed the bridge and was soon riding past hay fields and pastures. A big rooster ringneck pheasant hurried across the road and into the brush.

Then I heard a strange bark.  Dogs love to chase bicycles. But, instead of a dog, there was a female fox staring at me from a heap of sticks and rocks in the shelter of some willows. She fluffed her brown tail and sprinted away with her ears up, probably hoping I would pursue her and be led away from her den full of babies.

In about an hour I’d made a loop that brought me back into town and home with plenty of time to get ready for work.

(Moose and pheasant photos taken last year.  The moose I saw this time was darker.  The fox photo is borrowed from treknature.com)

DRESSING FOR THE BLESSING (cute baby alert!)

It was Baby J's big day.  Most of his aunts and uncles and cousins and his grandmas and grandpas came to welcome him into the family. 

Mom made a special outfit just for the occasion.

Baby J. was not real pleased with the situation.

Don't think playing dress-up is his favorite thing to do.

The reaction.

Sometimes he will smile nice.

With one of the sisters who will certainly spoil him.

...with Grandma and Grandpa GB

Not proud or nothin'

...with Grandma and Grandpa DB

More people to love and spoil him.