Walking In the May (JM)

 From today's hike at Clemens Park, Benton County

last trillium of the season

                                  the deep forest

                          dogwoods along the Alsea River

 dogwoods on the trail too 

                          time to journey on, 

                                  the North Loop...

More Pictures to Ponder (JM)

 

A Sad State (JM)

 

If this forest was logged

would this small stream be protected? 

Sadly, right now, no it would not.

Come Sabbath (JM)

 

Saint Patrick's, Our little Orthodox community on the coast 

Accompaniment (WC)

  

(Wendy Cabell, April 17, 2024 feast day of Our Lady of Miracles (above), Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and Blessed Mariana of Jesus. Image from here.)

Accompaniment

(a few senryu)

1.

evening argument 

with Joseph, heart’s balloon deflates 

greets dawn’s sunrise

2.

“I’m part bear”, he says

“and part human”, I remind 

he ambles to man cave

3.

for inner sweetness

he drops honey in his tea

sticky

hands

leave

trail...

*From prompt: Write in the form of a senryu, similar to haiku but with focus on the wit and irony of human foibles rather than a focus on nature; can do traditional 5-7-5 syllable structure, or follow modern trend of flexible syllable count. From Lynn Skapyak Harlin’s Senryu workshop (Hope at Hand’s Jax Poetry Festival), April 17, 2024. 

Spring Treasures (JM)

This is a Trillium/Easter lily, spotted along a small stream while hiking on Mary's Peak, here in the middle of the Oregon coastal mountain range. I never pick them, but each year always look to spot them. Also found an interesting Ojibwa legend, about 400 years old, from Canada about this plant, see here  https://gift.lovingly.com/featured-content/flower-meanings/great-white-trillium/ near bottom of page. Wishing everyone a Happy Easter...part 1! Part 2 coming up May 5 for Orthodox Easter...

Christ is risen!

Truly, He is risen!

--traditional Orthodox

Easter greeting

Equilibrium (WC)

 

(March 28, Holy Thursday, 2024, feast day of Our Lady of Panecillo (see Winged Heart image here), Our Lady of Castelbruedo (miracle of Lights, related image above), Saint Alkelda of Middleham, Saint Gundelindis of Niedermünster and Blessed Margherita of Verona. Image from here.)

Equilibrium

Oregon's temperate rainforests are also home 

to a wide range of wildlife, including black bears, 

elk, cougars, and bald eagles. The rivers and 

streams that flow through the forests provide…

–Richard Wong, photographer

Thanks to a bear (or a partner part bear) 

I live in a rainforest zone, here along the Alsea.

Thanks to a partner (or a bear part partner) 

a rainforest lives in me,

space for snow 

                   and stars, flame and bloom.

Plenty of room, it happens, for mull and turn

as hands brush these past months, find bounty

and betrayal both

find a journey still trudging homeward

(or a journey that’s part home).  

*From combined prompts: Freewrite as inspired by excerpt from “The Lost Breath of Trees”

by Colleen J. McElroy, and by “Morning” by Frank O'Hara. From Lisa Freedman’s

BreathReadWrite, March 28, 2023.