I recently traveled many hundreds of miles to stay with friends in Cedar Park, Texas, and experience the total solar eclipse. And yet all around and inside of me, at every moment, is an infinite kaleidoscope of evolving interconnection and becoming that is every bit as wondrous.
All of nature sings in symphony while we count our coins and measure our minutes.
I know what my one-Pepsi-a-day granny would do with those dandelions: cook ‘em on her wood-powered kitchen stove, the only kind of cooking device she owned.
After the dandelions were ready to serve, she always told us, “now you kids get in here and eat. I’m not going to be cooking again in five minutes just because you think you are hungry.”
Mine had a combination electric and wood stove. Those must have been sold for a very short time. The wood side provided heat, trash disposal (she bought very little disposable packaging), and a stovetop.
Every morning at 4 am, my granny fired up the stove to make breakfast for my granddad, who ran the logjammer stacking logs from the mill pond at PFI in Lewiston.
Sometimes, in awed whispers, we called her the old biscuit burner. You know how kids are.
Do you know the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden? I love the phrase "blueblack cold" to describe that time of day when the family firestarters used to rise to their duty. It's here if you don't know the poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46461/those-winter-sundays
I wonder if his kids called him a biscuit burner? Nah! They wouldn't dare!
He had the power over haircuts, which he personally administered. One style fit all heads, but might include more nicks, depending on the shearee’s attitude.
Gorgeous. 1 and 4 struck home as the breeze picks up here in our corner of France, sending petals dancing across freshly mown grass … who picks which petal indeed!
Thank you for dropping by like a petal! #2 was my weekend favorite while I had a houseful of teen girls, but #4 has the edge with me today. :-) Wonderful to share a thought between France and Idaho.
Just about 10 a.m., cool and overcast after a weekend that felt like high summer. It's perfect weather for digging more dandelions after the day's meetings. :-)
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that less-known line from Ezra Pound. The second half of that line resonates farther, I think, than the better known "In a Station of the Metro."
And Li Po is well-timed for our own crescent moon now. So much meaning is in just three words: Pause the blossom.
Well ... the words are fresh mint I think; it was spring and your little verse this afternoon and the moon last night, which is the way it goes if we are lucky. Old China lives of course; h/t as always. ... Thank you, I have Canto XIII open and must lift down the other book.
Yes, “herbalist” is a risen form of…
On this hallowed day,
Let us put away our gods,
And let all of nature speak for itself.
It is in full voice right now, isn’t it? 🌳🦆🌷
I recently traveled many hundreds of miles to stay with friends in Cedar Park, Texas, and experience the total solar eclipse. And yet all around and inside of me, at every moment, is an infinite kaleidoscope of evolving interconnection and becoming that is every bit as wondrous.
All of nature sings in symphony while we count our coins and measure our minutes.
That was as good an excuse as any for a road trip and a visit to friends.
Have you read Richard Powers's The Overstory yet? It's all about those interconnections, and deeply but not exclusively western. Sing, nature, sing.
I am just over halfway in the Powers book. The writing is extraordinary!
By the way, I know you may not have the time, but I found this conversation with Richard Powers to very good.
https://www.kalw.org/podcast/emergence-magazine-listening-hour/2024-04-15/kinship-community-and-consciousness-with-richard-powers
Thank you. I’ll give it a listen.
I love the way you've captured the blossoms in your words. They are so beautiful and fleeting.
Thank you, Rita. When I switched from prose to short poems this week, it felt like I was on the right track. :-)
I know what my one-Pepsi-a-day granny would do with those dandelions: cook ‘em on her wood-powered kitchen stove, the only kind of cooking device she owned.
After the dandelions were ready to serve, she always told us, “now you kids get in here and eat. I’m not going to be cooking again in five minutes just because you think you are hungry.”
Haha! I’m going to channel your grandmother.
Mine had a combination electric and wood stove. Those must have been sold for a very short time. The wood side provided heat, trash disposal (she bought very little disposable packaging), and a stovetop.
Every morning at 4 am, my granny fired up the stove to make breakfast for my granddad, who ran the logjammer stacking logs from the mill pond at PFI in Lewiston.
Sometimes, in awed whispers, we called her the old biscuit burner. You know how kids are.
Do you know the poem "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden? I love the phrase "blueblack cold" to describe that time of day when the family firestarters used to rise to their duty. It's here if you don't know the poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46461/those-winter-sundays
I wonder if his kids called him a biscuit burner? Nah! They wouldn't dare!
He had the power over haircuts, which he personally administered. One style fit all heads, but might include more nicks, depending on the shearee’s attitude.
“What did I know, what did I know
of love’s austere and lonely offices?”
Truth. Adulting. Wisdom. Pura vida.
I love the down to earth -"this grandma is no fool!
A great post! I love spring's crabapple blossoms so much! Thanks for mentioning Weirdo Poetry!
Me, too! I have a crabapple in my back yard, and those pink leaves are holding on better than most others.
Gorgeous. 1 and 4 struck home as the breeze picks up here in our corner of France, sending petals dancing across freshly mown grass … who picks which petal indeed!
Thank you for dropping by like a petal! #2 was my weekend favorite while I had a houseful of teen girls, but #4 has the edge with me today. :-) Wonderful to share a thought between France and Idaho.
We’re sliding into the evening over here … there?
Just about 10 a.m., cool and overcast after a weekend that felt like high summer. It's perfect weather for digging more dandelions after the day's meetings. :-)
Same weather here. Have a fabulous day.
(Both of) you, too!
It's a good day for Dandelion tea.
Haha! So long as I don’t accidentally poison myself. What is it they say about just enough knowledge to get you in trouble? :-)
Thank you for sharing!
I like the dandelion one.
I agree. Oh shucks, I'm partial to all of them. Darned maternal 4-way tie!
I mean best ❤️
I understood. 😂
Thanks for the shoutout! I also publish original poetry on my page.
That should be in the post, shouldn't it. Done! :-)
Thank you so much!
Tara, so very kind of you to mention my work. Thank you!
And oh, what a glorious visual feast of words and blossoms here. Again, thank you.
Glad to give you a happy Monday start. Thank you for sharing! :-)
This is awesome, thank you! I love the unexpected change of pace and lightness to welcome spring.
You'll appreciate that I had other plans, but I wasn't in the groove with them. This came instead and felt like the right touch.
I certainly DO appreciate that!
In just a few words you’ve captured so much emotion. Love 1. Endless meanings in that piece.
Thank you. That one resonates for me, too.
Lovely … brings them out … thank you …
Reminds me … Canto Xiii: Kung Walked - poem by Ezra Pound
``The blossoms of the apricot blow from the east to the west, `And I have tried to keep them from falling."
And here’s a grateful wave for Li Po et al…
Pause the blossom
And the moon’s slender beginning,
Hold the sky, heaven’s reflection
At the bend of the river
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that less-known line from Ezra Pound. The second half of that line resonates farther, I think, than the better known "In a Station of the Metro."
And Li Po is well-timed for our own crescent moon now. So much meaning is in just three words: Pause the blossom.
Well ... the words are fresh mint I think; it was spring and your little verse this afternoon and the moon last night, which is the way it goes if we are lucky. Old China lives of course; h/t as always. ... Thank you, I have Canto XIII open and must lift down the other book.
Enjoyed the poem.
Thank you! 🙏
Lovely introduction to spring ... through poems and Tara's quiet reading ...
Thank you, Mary. :-)
Oh, Tara, my soul needed this today. Both the words and that gorgeous picture. I felt myself falling into all of them. Thank you so much for that!
Yay! I'm so glad. Maybe my soul got a memo from your soul about the vibe for today. :-)