Friday, December 31, 2010

31 Dec 2010

another year of slips and
slides
nothing so black and white
only the dog
and the sky
a thin shell of blue

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

november 17

i am wrapping the package
yesterday's dream and today's
the steely gray phase

Saturday, April 17, 2010

whistling moon

three deer and an owl
under a young moon

the owl flushes
near
then the deer

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Troglodytes

snow veils the trees
a Douglas squirrel digs in the snow
beneath the feeder
(home movie for the dog
who sits quietly watching

juncos join the excavation

and later on a walk
up the road
a winter wren greeting

Friday, March 12, 2010

march snow

here it is snowing again
and the creek runs low
the footstep rocks covered with rime
waiting in the gray light
for your calling

now the dog and i
alone
more careful crossing the creek
the rocks slick with all those memories

the dog growing patient with age

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

driving to Cave Jct.

thin soup of morning
white oak mistletoe silhouette
the curve of old wagon roads
and before
the seasonal stepping of families
mountain to valley
and back
and back

thin soup of morning
a gelding clomps along the road
free from fences
the pecking order of
muddy pasture

a yellow first student bus
blinks down the road


Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Heard a Northern Saw-whet Owl tooting around the yurt this evening.
Exciting as it is an early signal of all the spring singing to come!
check out more about these guys here:

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

more drops

drops
the snowmelt
on fir
drops
on cedar drops


or pinedrops
the word drops on the word

water under the...
drops

Drops

Monday, February 1, 2010

Friday, January 29, 2010

Stakeout

hawkwatch in the Klamath Basin

Bewick's Wren

every poem a naming
the essence of language

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Birds 01_28_10

a flock of Evening Grosbeaks overhead late this morning
later Chloe and i head down to the lake for a walk
wind
Fox Sparrow chack-call
Anna's Hummingbird display
Northern Harrier and White-tailed Kite tangle
wind on the way back
two Red-tails blown about
Oak Titmice in the roses
Acorn Woodpeckers across the road

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Corvid Cheer

(with apologies to blv)

Ravens and Crows
they're so smart
Ravens and Crows
they're so smart
Ravens and Crows

they use tools,
too!
Ravens and Crows!





Wednesday, January 20, 2010

In honor of William Stafford

William Stafford( Jan.17,1914-Aug.28,1993)
Oregon poet, teacher, pacifist and mentor to many
lucky to have taken a class from him long ago


Yes

It could happen any time, tornado,
earthquake, Armageddon. It could happen.
Or sunshine, love, salvation.

It could , you know. That's why we wake
and look out- no guarantees
in this life.

But some bonuses, like morning,
like right now, like noon,
like evening.


from Passwords (1991)

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Friday, January 8, 2010

january's blue light

yesterday at the edge of the grey cloud mass
above the overcut western ridges
the blue line light of winter

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

random winter collage 4

note to a friend

the constant fingering
of scars
thick and erratic

some wounds never heal

follow the path to a tree
watch the brown creeper
spiral up
probing the cracks and crevices
feeding, feeding

in the spring
behind the loose bark
in the wounds of the tree
flaking away
a cup of moss and twigs

and it goes on


Friday, January 1, 2010

First bird of the new year

quiet all morning but
for the dripping trees and the sound of traffic
on the road
below

dee...ddee...dedede
calling for their sisters and
brothers,uncles and aunts,mothers and fathers
my neighbors foraging in the wood
mountain chickadees

Happy New Year!

It is the readiness of the mind that is wisdom.
-Shunryu Suzuki