A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

At our house, at our age, we’ve come to the point of down sizing, trying to make things more manageable and to live more simply. And this year our Christmas decorations are less glitz and glitter and more basic. We put up a small pre-lit tree and decorated it with just our favorite ornaments; the rest will be donated along with the outside lights that neither of us are willing to hassle with. A cheerful wreath on the door and a less decorated mantle is enough cheer for us. As today’s rain washes away any trace of a White Christmas, we will still be glad and have ourselves a Merry Little Christmas.

From our house to yours, and to all our family and friends, who are the best part of life, we wish all of you,

A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

I'M HOME, SO LET IT SNOW

It's been snowing lightly but steadily since early this morning. It's predicted to get worse toward evening so I'll stay put for the rest of the day. I was out  this morning clearing the snow off the deck and my car and it felt pretty cold on my hands and feet. The roads were OK and I took a drive with a friend to Athens for the Victorian Stroll. Things weren't starting till around one o'clock and we thought it best to head home before the roads became hazardous. It's good to be home where it is safe and warm. If your heading out today, bundle up and be cautious on the roads. 

BEING THANKFUL

For me, gratitude is to notice and appreciate what I have, rather than focus on what I think I am lacking. I try to remember that each day, I have exactly what I need. I have found the more I say this out loud and incorporate it into my daily life, the more I find it is so. And of course, there are those times of complaining, you can ask my husband or ask my friends, but when I am mindful and take time for gratitude thinking, I can raise my consciousness to a more joyful and balanced life. There always seems to be something or many things to be grateful for and my intention is to recognize it sooner, rather than later and to express it each day. Gratitude is simple but powerful and giving thanks is nourishment all year.   

  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING  TO ALL

DEAR SANTA

I know it's a bit early, but I've written my letter to Santa. 

I want to make sure he gets it as soon as possible!

I think I found this on Pinterest but it spoke to me. 

AFTER THE FRUIT IS GONE

This morning entering the kitchen

Tiny fruit flies swarming over

Two ripening bananas on the counter

Who’s sweet aroma begged me

To slice one for my cereal

Slowly eating my breakfast

The flies re-assembled

 On the one remaining fruit

Leaving me to wonder where

Will they go after

I eat the last banana?

AUTUMN AFTERNOON

AUTUMN AFTERNOON

Wet leaves fall through the cool October

Another autumn arrives and I feel older

Out of this afternoon, comes another page

Dressing up in costume well-passed middle aged

Trick or treater's laughter, music rising in the sky

Painting pictures with such a youthful eye

Like writing scary stories in the trees

To filter down with the autumn breeze

MSW

Georgia O'Keefe- Heart & Soul

WITH GEORGIA ON MY MIND

OCTOBER'S PARTY

October gave a party;

The leaves by hundreds came--

The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,

And leaves of every name.

The sunshine spread a carpet,

And everything was grand,

Miss weather led the dancing,

Professor Wind the band.

                  George Cooper

  

In autumn days of chilly mornings and warm afternoons, there’s nothing that can catch my attention more than the call of these country roads. The earth spins in a blaze of color with a richness that delights the eye and seeps into my day. Following the light through the windows each morning, I find I cannot resist its charm. I yearn to be out on the road, where there is a new thing to be seen at every turn, every moment. Some days, it’s a strong bright sun followed by a mellower mood but the October wind can change the landscape at any time. Beyond the curve of the road or the next hill to climb, there’s a view that beckons. Sometimes with my camera or just my walking stick, I’m out embracing all its offerings while the splendor lasts. Oh, the sights you'll see!

sights in your own back yard

and out of the driveway

walking uphill

waiting for company

pass the barn and out to the meadow

 

fall resting place

even a friends garden gnome

a surprise back home in the driveway

                               TO ALL: A SPLENDID FALL!

FROM SUMMER

GARDENS AT OLANA, HUDSON NY

With cooler days and even cooler nights, summer continues to fade in my memory.

I found myself wondering what I had done with my summer days and checked back on my calendar. It seems I was busy doing this and that and a lot of running errands and too many trips to Albany for auto repairs. I did get to attend a writing workshop, which I so looked forward to each week. I managed to attend most photography club meetings and got together with my crochet and knitting group. I also took a ceramics class that proved to be pretty interesting. But, to reassure myself that I was actually out in the summer air, I had to check my photo files. I’ll share some pictures with you here. Enjoy the view!  

 CURIOUS HUMMINGBIRD

A POSING BEAUTY

DAPPLED LIGHT THROUGH THE TREES

AND ON TO THE FERNS

CEDAR GROVE, THOMAS COLE HOUSE
CATSKILL, NY

LOVELY TABLE SETTING BY THE FIREPLACE 

THE ARTIST'S PATH

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
HUNTER, NY

DEER IN MY SON'S BACKYARD
NEW MILFORD, NJ
CHECK OUT THOSE ANTLERS

SUMMER FLOWERS ON THE FRONT DECK

MY ROCK GARDEN
WITH MORE GARDEN THAN ROCKS

AND MY LATEST VISITOR TO MY BACKYARD,
BIG BOY

PARAGON

There’s a highflying hawk 

that soars beneath the daytime moon

backlit by the brightest of sky

broad wings rise and glide in silhouette

is it a paragon-an advocate of war

that looms over our heads

with politics aside and keen sight

the hawk knows what it's searching for  

SEPTEMBER

 Each year, summer always seems too brief as Memorial Day and Labor Day move closer together. On spring and summer mornings, you can hear flocks of birds arriving, but now, on their journey south, in search for a warmer climate, they leave the thinning trees. In September, you can feel and hear the summer receding before you actually see it. Each morning, there’s a lilt of new weather; it sings a little louder as September ages and flies right into your day. Before you realize it, you’re cutting pumpkins then stirring that warm comfort soup that waits inside your winter kitchen.

VAN GOGH

Taking this time to remember Vincent Van Gogh who was born on March 30th, 1853

 and died on July 29, 1890

 VAN GOGH

After painting peasant pictures  

Country settings-harvest landscapes

He was drawn to the pallets of Paris

Where color was everything

He took long walks to improve his color

With passion and torment he painted

 Poppies, olive groves and night cafés

Compulsively driven by brushes with death

And strokes of genius he worked

With turbulent eyes and brightly colored oils

Creating sunflowers, fishing boats, portraits

And starry nights that will live on forever

But at a young thirty-seven, left his canvas

With so much color and life unpainted

Making us wonder what madness drove him

To leave us with such an impression

MSW

IN SO MANY WORDS

WORDS

Like houseflies, we buzz upward and hit the white ceiling

Circling around the room, we pass the closed door

How long before we realize this present space and time?

Instinct moves us toward the light of the window

But we bounce off with no escape

Within these walls, this day, we co-exist

 It’s where words fly and we negotiate

To surrender to the will of each other

REMEMBER THE DAY'S BLESSINGS AND FORGET THE DAY'S TROUBLES

MASTER BEDROOM
Andrew Wyeth

When I took my troubles to bed

Laid them on the pillow next to me

I thought I had put them to rest

So I searched for diversions instead

With heavy eyelids I drifted off

But during my restless sleep

I grabbed the troubled pillow

And placed it under my head

Next to my breath-I inhaled it

Near my ears-I listened to it

Above my heart-I embraced it

And all night wrestled with it

The next day I made my bed

With yesterdays troubles still

Lying there under the covers

Waiting for my sleepy head

msw

DIGGING FOR WILD GARLIC

Yesterday, I had the urge to sauté the fresh string beans I bought at the market the day before. When I checked for ingredients and couldn't find any garlic, I remembered the wild garlic growing beside the sage in the front rock garden. It’s really a small patch of earth along the front walkway, so I approached it with only a small pointed hand shovel. Bending over, I could feel the strain on my knees and back, but kept digging and digging.  It was a challenge to pry the bulbs loose without damaging them. One after the other, I uncovered the fully formed but small garlic bulbs and laid them on the ground. There were only four or five but more than enough for an early nights dinner. After fifteen minutes of digging and pulling some weeds along the way, my back was beginning to ache. 

On the farm across the road, the tractor had been running for a couple of hours and the thought of working in the hot sun every day, planting, cutting and harvesting, made my back ache even more. One would really have to be dedicated to it or hungry enough. I headed for the kitchen with my small but ample crop.

I crushed some garlic cloves to sauté the string beans with olive oil, some to flavor the grilled pork chops and snipped pieces of the long stems to sprinkle on the baked potatoes. It would be our special meal of the week and except for the garlic, all purchased at the supermarket. With fork and knife in hand, my husband and I delighted in our simple but most savory feast. Across the field, the tractor was still running over the large expanse of land and I now felt much more appreciation for the farmer who would have many more hours of work before his evening meal. 

FLOATERS AND FLASHES

I’M KEEPING AN EYE ON IT…

As i write my words,

i blink my eyes

and dot my i’s…

 while more black dots float in…

and end. my sentences.

 before i am ready.

 my Ophthalmologist says:

it is a sign

of gel breaking….. away……

i will have to pay.  Attention.

To floaters and flashes…

And changes in my vision

because… a tear in the retina.

 can be serious… 

and the doctor never says:

 just keep an eye on it...

FAR FROM A SONNET

It seems like forever since I’ve posted here

And taking a break has its advantages

Like crossing off things on the to do list

Events that run into Memorial Day Weekend

And now, hot humid sticky weather

After those scary tornados on Wednesday evening

EXHALE…

The air conditioner is on for three hours already

Outside, the cottonwood has been blowing around again

It seems that my rhythm is off still catching up to May’s runaround

Which leads me back to writing and I think this is good practice

But getting back into the swing of things isn’t as easy as it seems

Fourteen lines, so far from a sonnet and I'm much closer

To the iced tea waiting in the kitchen   

MSW

HARBINGERS OF SPRING

It’s more tempting to be outside these warm days than to be blogging indoors. Spring is full of daffodils and tulips surfacing into the air like underground swimmers that have held their breath too long. Migrating birds are arriving in flocks and I sit outside poised with my binoculars. The wild rabbits have brought their babies out to feed on new grass and there is so much more activity to pay attention to this season.

There is also another harbinger of spring that has had my attention. The black bears, also controlled by the rhythms of nature, slept peacefully through the winter. They are now visiting the neighborhood trash containers. In celebration of spring, they leave confetti from driveway to driveway marking their arrival. Residents, like park workers after the parade, come out each morning to clean up after them. 

WINTER'S DREAM

WINTER’S DREAM

During the night, the cold winter wind

Had me under warm quilted covers

Dreaming of creatures outside

I traveled into the dark woods

Where the trees moved together

And huddled for support

Snow glistened next to wild hooves

And I saw hot breath rise into the pines

That touched the starry heaven

The journey moved me slowly through

Coyote and fox, passing owl eyes

From branches of hollowed out trees

Echoing through the frigid forest dream

Trees whispered that the sleep was over

And the promise of spring was near

This morning I awoke to the sun

Struggling with winter clouds

And searched for inspiration

Through the finest of flurries

A pink glow on the snowy mountains

Appeared like divine revelation

It chased the night’s ice off the page

Making room for early birds

To bring me my sun-filled morning

MSW

THAT'S ENOUGH SNOW, THANK YOU!

WIND-BLOWN FEMALE CARDINAL

We're getting lots of snow here today on top of what fell last night. I hope that's it! Really now!!! Remember: tomorrow is the first day of spring. While it is so picturesque, I’ll be inside today, except to feed the birds. There's a bird feeding frenzy out there and I think I'll run out of food for them soon. I've noticed some Red-winged Blackbirds here the last few days and I'm trying to get some shots of them. I started a photo file to help identify the birds and I hope that I'm getting better in spotting and naming them. If I've identified any of these birds incorrectly, please correct me; I'd appreciate the help.  I'm taking some pictures from my window, where I can keep dry. For those of us that are fortunate enough to be indoors enjoy the view. 

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS

MALE CARDINAL

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD

DOWNY WOODPECKER