2154. little raccoon

hello, there

little raccoon, where’d you come from? 

where will you go?

 

Raccoon! A little raccoon heading my way, walking toward me one step at a time…step, pause…step, pause…a little too slowly, too carefully, his right foot not touching the ground, held high, as though in pain. “Where did you come from, little one?” All alone, was he sad, did he need comfort? I wanted to hold him but I didn’t. I simply stayed awhile watching, holding him in my thoughts and hopes that he be graced by heaven’s tender arms. 

2153. true happiness

true happiness

lies in all the details

of daily life

 

One of my teeth needed to go. Waiting 15 minutes for the lidocaine to take effect and numb my gums, all I could do was sit there and stare at the surgeon’s tools. Then I remembered this: “The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” Somehow, I wasn’t quite feeling it that day.😘

2152. at the carnival 2.

at the carnival

weeding the cosmos—

lady in pink

 

Apart from the crowd, finding the perfect quiet spot to focus on the universe in her hand.

2151. at the carnival

 

at the carnival

rides, games, bingo, food and more

people people people

*

spending their

nickels, dimes, and paper dollars

for ten thousand laughs

Friday night at the annual Holy Martyrs Carnival in Oreland. Tonight’s the last night, 6 to 10PM.

2150. standing tall

standing tall

blowing in the wind

dahlias 

 

Seasons change. Summer ends turning over to Fall. Temperatures fall, overnight it seems, and the wind blows bringing things to an end, falling down to the ground—leaves on trees and summer flowers, cicadas, crickets, beetles, fireflies, too. Yet some things stand tall and keep blowing in the wind. 

Dahlias are known for standing out in a crowd. They like to stand tall, some as high as 6 feet with blossoms 8 to 12 inches across! The dahlia flower is a symbol of inner strength and perseverance in times of adversity and in 1963 was declared the National Flower of Mexico.

2149. road trip

a man and a woman

flew by on a motorcycle

saddlebags bulging

 

Now that looks like fun!

2148. to be a pig

cars, trucks, trailers

whiz by morning, noon, and night

pigs go on chillin’

On the go—minute by minute 60, 70, 80 miles an hour—cars, trucks, long-distance trailers whizzing by endlessly. On the other side of the turnpike guardrail, pigs on the farm loll about in the fresh air surrounded by grassy green fields and the blue mountains and the wide open sky, nowhere to go nothing to do just chilling, fat and happy, endlessly. Oh, to be a pig…🐷 😘

 

2147. steps

across the creek

the old stone steps going

nowhere

This makes me think of an old black and white photograph of a long stairwell—it was beautiful. My brother had been standing at the top of the stairwell looking all the way down. I wonder what he would’ve done with these steps. The marble in his photo looked so soft and deep and very white, I wanted to touch it. I wish I still had that photo. I miss my brother. Here’s to Yulin.❣️

2146. happy 75!!!

dan, tom, harry

ann, maureen, patty, joyce, pat

happy 75!!!

 

We traveled back to Monongahela to celebrate Dan’s reunion with highschool classmates, all born in 1951 and celebrating their 75th birthday in 2026. What a wonderful party with everyone smiling, shaking hands, hugging, laughing, sharing stories and recounting memories, memories, memories!!! 

2145. autumn

orange and gold

a blanket of blanketflower

it must be autumn 

Gaillardia, Fire Wheel, Sundance, Indian Blanketflower. The state flower of Oklahoma.

2144. dots

eating dots

cherry, orange, lemon, lime—

one by one 

 

“As long as I’m alive, I will continue to try to understand more, because the work of the heart is never done.” Muhammad Ali

2143. pool party

let’s party!

everybody into the pool!

WOWEE WOW!!!

 

Once a puppy always a puppy. A puppy is a puppy. No matter how old or well-trained or well-behaved, a part of him remains a puppy: running and jumping into the air, spinning, wagging, humping, panting, sighing, chasing balls, begging treats and sniffing out where the hot dogs are and soft pretzels too. WOWEE WOW!!! Yesterday’s end-of-summer Puppy Pool Party was a blast. There must’ve been 15 or 20 dogs, big ones, small ones racing around smiling silly, splashing, swimming, shaking off and splattering water onto all of us owners and onlookers. WOWEE WOW!!!

2142. last night’s moon

i’m looking

i’m always looking

oh, there’s the moon

 

Last night’s moon. It was beautiful. And so close to home, I had to take a picture. It’s not a pretty picture. I don’t mind. You’ll have to believe me, it was beautiful.

2141. wigwams

camping out

in their modern-day wigwams

the lenni lenape

 

Colorful campsite. A short distance away, all their cars were parked along the gravel road at the edge of the woods. The license plate on every car was from Delaware. This made me wonder if these campers were descended from the Lenape Tribe, also known as the Delaware Nation, the indigenous “Original People” of the Greater Delaware Valley. I also read that the Lenni Lenape were highly regarded by other Native American nations and were given the name “Grandfathers” for their respected roles as peacemakers and elders. 

2140. about a leaf

 

two eyes and ears

oh no! what’s happened to my nose

cries the elephant 

*

like you and me

every leaf has a story to tell—

think about it

What to write about these leaves… Leaves, leaves, nothing but leaves…but wait a minute, that leaf has eyes, sad and lonely little eyes, looking down and out and in the dumps. Makes me wonder…Do leaves on trees have feelings? Do leaves feel sad when they leave their tree and tumble all the way down, all the way down to the ground?

 

2140. she—he

words just won’t come—

she shuts down her phone

for the ‘nth time!

She: “Some mornings I’ve got nothing. I just can’t think of anything to say.” 😝

He: “Yeah yeah. Just do something.” 😘

2139. bedazzled

 so at home

there’s nothing she doesn’t know

the deer in the woods

*

those incredible eyes

those coal-tipped ears and nose

they dazzle me

In considering multiplicity of forms in nature and the natural world, “It must be a great disappointment to God if we are not dazzled, at least 10 times a day…” Mary Oliver

2138. kitchen window

 

pinecone, kitty buddha

two golden pears, cup of green leaves

little poems

All kitties know how to meditate. Aren’t we all buddhas?  Two golden pears lean in, blushing with rosy cheeks. Green leaves never ask for much to be happy, only sunshine and water. Pinecones go on forever—symbols of immortality, fertility, creativity, protection.

2137. the lawn mower

 

mowing the yard

blade by blade—

the groundhog

It was a warm sunny day. I looked out thru the window back behind the house where the railroad tracks run. There he was pulling with sharpened teeth, happily gnashing grasses and chomping away mouthful by mouthful. I grabbed my phone to take a picture. He paused, turned his head, looked back at me then quickly waddled away up the slope and disappeared into the tall bushes near the tracks. Curious, I Googled and learned: A groundhog has four strong self-sharpening teeth crowded to the front of its mouth, can eat up to a pound and a half of grass every day, and can make a fast getaway running up to 10mph! 

2136. beautiful

you make the fire

i’ll show you something wonderful:

a big ball of snow

*

let’s have a cup of tea

i’ll show you something awesome:

a giant snowball

Every day, I’m still looking for God and I’m still finding him everywhere, in the dust, in the flower beds. . . so begins a poem by Mary Oliver, “On Traveling to Beautiful Places.” 

Above, the first haiku was written by Matsuo Basho, the greatest contributor to the development of haiku literature.

2135. a squirrel

what fun to be

a squirrel sitting in the tree

staring at me

 

Lately, I’ve been paying closer attention to squirrels in the woods. They appear to be more intentionally active now, scurrying, scurrying, chittering, churling, squirreling away acorns and acorns. Surely a sign of changes to come. 

2134. up and up

making its way

up and up the car tire

inch by inch

 

This is an American Dagger Caterpillar, looks cute and fuzzy but don’t touch—it’s poisonous! I wonder if it mistook this tire for a tree, or maybe it wants to go for a ride!😉

2133. leaning in

leaning in

ready for the today’s rains 

tiny umbrellas

Tucked away down beside the paved walkway, tiny parasola mushrooms, like the three musketeers leaning in, winking with mischievous smiles, tipping their hats for anyone willing to get down on hands and knees to take their photo.

2132. wait a minute

it’s 90°—

60 pounds of ice melt waiting

hmmm….

 

Just outside the waiting room: Sun’s up. Skies are clear and hot. It’s 90° and there’s 60 pounds of ice melt waiting. Whoa, wait a minute… Is it supposed to snow?  Hey, I know everything changes but, wait a minute! 😆

2131. look! look!

look! look!

humungous fungus 

it’s alive!

 

This mushroom popped up recently on a front lawn in my village. My foot wears a size 9 1/2 shoe and this mushroom is big enough to eat it, but this is nothing. Bigger yet is the world’s largest known fungus. It spans 3-1/2 square miles, about the size of 1600 football fields! It grows mostly underground and is alive and well in Oregon. 

2130. red

at my feet

quiet as a feather

a red feather

*

no longer floating

fluttering, flying, winging

singing 

Walking along in the woods, down on the ground at my feet—what color! Red. My fave. What is that? Is that a feather? Is it real? Who cares. It’s so red. So bright. So bold brilliant blazing vivid vibrant intense sheeny shiny flashy smashy. I’m getting carried away.😘

2129. curly

hey, wait a minute 

i saw your post about me— 

thanks a lot!

There he is again, curl in his tail heading my way. Looks like he’s got something on his mind. He’s smiling, I don’t know why but why not. I’ve seen him before hanging around that red truck. I don’t know his name, I’ll call him Curly.