1597. snow

take a gander

here’s one last picture of snow

isn’t it pretty?

*

bye bye winter

thank you for all the snow—

honk if you like snow!!

The last day of the second month of the year 2025. Winter is almost over. The snow’s all gone now. It was a good winter for snow—not too much, not too little. HONK!

1596. still life

still life

the piney smell of pine….

lingering 

 

Winter is nearly over. It’s in the air. Nestled together on the soft earth beneath my feet—pale underside bark of wood, sprig of faded green, silvery lichen, and a single crusty cone.  This once was a giant.

In the beginning, there was only the writing, or at least it appeared to me as writing burnished into a very small piece of wood. I pulled out my camera to take a picture for a closer look….then looked around on the ground nearby. Only then did I realize it was more than just a piece of wood and I wanted somehow to honor it in a post….

1595. when we were young

 

if only I could say,

let’s talk about the old days

when we were young

When we were young, we were the best of friends. We played together, traveled together, explored, discovered and learned together. When it was time to go to school, I only wanted to go with him to first grade but I wrote all my numbers backwards, so they put me in kindergarten. Years later, I remember the time we were just talking about this and that and my brother said to me, “Lan, you and I and Mom and Pop, we were all together in another lifetime…and we’ll be together again.” I can hear him even now, smiling. 😊 

1594. take my picture!

out in the cold

“take my picture!” it beckons,

old carwash

Old car wash—looks like it could use a good wash!

1593. the lineup!

everybody!

hands up against the wall!

the lineup😆

 

I didn’t do this. This was in Dan‘s kitchen. What in the world was he thinking?!😆

1592. what joy!

ten thousand snowflakes

outside in the cold, what joy

to disappear!

 

….well, almost! 

The snow’s all gone now. I think maybe it won’t snow again this winter, but who knows!

1591. hopalong

the grey bunny

on the white snow 

hopping along

Gazing down into the creek, frozen over with snow and ice, I spotted the grey bunny.  I named him, Hopalong. 

1590. beyond the pale

two geese

flying along through the mist

imagine…

*

i wouldn’t need a thing

if i could fly with you forever,

not even a penny

“If there is life after the Earth life, will you come with me even then? Since we’re bound to be something, why not together?” These words from  a poem by Mary Oliver immediately brought to mind a picture I had taken of two wild geese flying high, together.

Yes, there is so much enmity and suspicion all around in this world, but that’s not all there is. Yes, “There is life without love. It is not worth a bent penny…”

1589. step by step

he said she said:

no you can’t oh yes I can

and i will i will!

….hike up all the way up all the way up to that star!🌟 
 

1588. paradise now

standing tall

the gentle giant sings—

let’s all get along

“Let’s All Get Along” — 11x13-1/2” — Origami 

Birds flying high, monkeys swing low, and a mischief of mice. Like a preacher with his congregation, the gentle giant sings: Old things new, grey skies blue, it’s a good day now. Let the wind blow, let the sun shine, let the moon glow. It’s a good day now, let’s sing a song, let’s all get along….let’s all get along!

1587. street minstrel

street minstrel 

plays his solitary song

the walls lean in

*

no one to hear, but 

maybe a pigeon or two

up in the eaves 

“Make your own kind of music, even if nobody else sings along” Mama Cass. (My picture of a picture in a museum.) 

1586. the wind blows

over the rise

like a flock of geese heading home

turning white

The wind blows. “Listen closely to the wind. It is the sound of the leaves in the trees, dancing and writing poetry across the sky.”

1585. stuff happens!

oh, no!

that fish jumped out of the pond

and lost all its color!

 

Stuff happens! Sometimes all you can do is just smile.😆

1584. short night

 

short night 

the end of a long

foggy day

*

short night

his stomach was on the fritz

chicken soup

*

short night

i was red, he was green

parcheesi

*

short night

he beat me again

two out of three

*

short night

a movie: no cussin’ no sex

tender mercies

*

short night

end of a just another day

lights out 

Buson is another great haiku poet. He was also a very distinguished painter. His poems are painterly in several senses—visually intense with a certain cool and powerful aesthetic detachment and a love of color. In his writing, there is also a sense of life playing out. This morning i came across a series of eleven haiku that all begin with the line, “the short night”. I was inspired. 

1583. all my hearts!

these are for you 

i love you with all my hearts!

it’s Valentine’s Day 

All my hearts! Soon as I saw these, I thought of you. They wouldn’t fit in my car, so this picture will have to do!  I love you….big time!😊💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

1582. souvenirs

yesterday’s snow

came and left without a fuss….

it’s raining now

Things come and things go, that’s life. It’s good to take pictures to remember the little happinesses that can pass us by.

1581. snowflakes ❄️

quick:

stick out your tongue….

yum!

Eating snowflakes! More snow last night, one or two inches, not enough for a snowman.  Here’s an old winter haiku by Basho, Japan’s best known haiku poet: 

come, let’s go 

snow-viewing 

till we’re buried!

1580. so what!

cars and trucks speed by

on northwestern avenue

….so what!

It’s pleasant to stroll along Northwestern Avenue by the woods and the waters of the creek. I like to enjoy the peace and quiet there. But when the cars and trucks speed by, it’s easy to feel crowded, annoyed….so I recall the heron who sits by the creek day by day meditating on the sites and sounds of life as it is and I say to myself, so what!

1579. we won!

head coach 

his smile says it all—

we won!

 

What a win! Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl LIX 40 — 22! From start to finish—a game to remember!

1578. icy rain

brrrrrr….

the tree branches freeze

in the icy rain

*

icy rain

come in, sit down my friend

have a cup of tea

 

Glad I didn’t have to go out last night. 🥶

1577. the big squeeze

ahhh…

the vine and the tree

so in love

That’s probably a poison ivy vine that is slowly, slowly choking the tree, squeezing every bit of life out of the tree. But there’s something beautiful here, so here’s another story. It’s romantic, the way the vine wraps around the tree, the way they appear to snuggle and embrace arm in arm like old lusty lovers. Over and over, days pass….years go by….things go round and round. This is life.

1576. trading places

winter winds

old tree fluttering….no

they’re not leaves

 

Big old sycamore. On the bare branches, nothing but feathers now to bring color and warmth and life to the tree. (I took this picture thru the windshield of my car—zoom in for a closer look.)

Sometimes, I enjoy amusing myself imagining that I can lift off and fly up and away with the birds across the big sky. Now I might try sitting up in the tree with them, gazing down at all the traffic rushing by.😘 Hmm…

1575. rambling

 

the bed 

is dry just enough

for a pumpkin 

The creek winds its way through our village. Walking around, I always stop to look down into the creek beds—there are several—wondering what might be found there. Sometimes there’s water or ice, but usually not. There’s always rocks and leaves and golf balls! Once there was some kind of splattered animal, dark and dried out and I remember a deer drinking and a cat that was stepping its way across rocks looking up at me with curious eyes. One morning after rain, there was a small school of tiny orange fishes—the next day gone. Today, again something orange there. I took a picture. You can’t really see the pumpkin, you have to zoom in and squint a little, but the rock bed is pretty, if you like rocks.

1574. the witness

leaves

a hundred thousand, all gone now

….swept by the wind

 

By the edge of the creek, the waters flow and the trail travels on….wind blows and leaves its witness behind.  

1573. a quickee

oldie but goodie:

two humps and a nose….

it’ll have to do!

I don’t have a picture ready to post today, so here’s a quickee—an oldie from last summer at the Cape May Zoo. Now, here’s a joke:  How do you offer a camel a cup of tea?….One hump or two?😆

1572. work in progress

in the studio

one thing leads to another

feeling outnumbered!

 

Paper wants to be more than just paper. It’s true.

If you take a sheet of paper, cut it into a square, then cut that into a triangle and, for instance, fold that triangle into a mouse, and then another and another and before you know it, you can have a field of many mouses. You could stop there or you could go back and use the square to make a white elephant! I was inspired by a story I heard about a campground in Africa that was overrun by a plague of mice. This piece isn’t finished yet.

1571. playing possum

squirrel 

up a tree

playing possum 

 

Amazing how a squirrel can move from stillness to top speed then stop and freeze in a blink of an eye. Did you know that they can run as fast as 20 miles per hour?!

1570. reflecting

taking a break

and disappearing 

into my phone

 

Everywhere you look people are in their phones.📱 “Creativity is just connecting things.” Steve Jobs