Shades of Green

Shades of Green

I lay on the grass and look up at a tree.

The dark green shades on the leaves are enlightened by the sun shining down.
All of this is accented perfectly by the deep brown trunk and branches.
I watch robins dance from branch to branch as they decide if I’m friend or foe.
A squirrel races up the opposite side of the tree.
He’s decided I’m a foe.
The alarm on my phone goes off.
Lunch break is over.

The Rain

The Rain
By Robert Creeley

All night the sound had

come back again,
and again falls
this quiet, persistent rain.

What am I to myself

that must be remembered,
insisted upon
so often?  It is

that never the ease,

even the hardness,
of rain falling
will have for me

something other than this

something not so insistent –
am I to be locked in this
final uneasiness.

Love, if you love me,

lie next to me.
be for me, like rain,
the getting out

of the tiredness, the fatuousness, the semi-
lust of intentional indifference.
Be wet
with a decent happiness.

 

Used by permission.  Copyright 1983 by Regents of the University of California. (University of California Press)  From:  Americans’ Favorite Poems by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz; © 2000 by Robert Pinsky; W.W. Norton and Company, New York

 

Fog

Fog
By:  Annella Grayce

I envy animals.

Survival of the fittest
means they don’t age.

They don’t contend

with the fog of age.

Why our human brains

fog over in age.
I will never understand.

Watching the fog

roll in is disheartening.

Gone is the fun

easy-going family member.
Fog is all that remains.

I envy animals.

Small changes

I've had fun writing this blog.  It takes a lot of time to write a blog every week.  Unfortunately more time than I have right now.  I'm going to change to posting every other week.  I've also noticed that the poetry gets more views than my little opinion pieces so poetry is all that will be in this blog from now on.  Thanks for reading.

Pied Beauty

Pied Beauty

By Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory to be God for dappled things—

          For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
                   For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
          Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
                   And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

          Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
                   With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
                                      Praise him.

From:  Americans’ Favorite Poems by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz; © 2000 by Robert Pinsky; W.W. Norton and Company, New York

 

 

 

Botanical Gardens

Many cities have a botanical garden.  Search for the one in your town.  They are so beautiful.  My thumb isn’t very green.  I admire the work and planning it takes to make these gardens a showcase.

Know that botanical gardens are different than nature centers.  A botanical garden is meticulously planned, every flower, every shrub, every blade of grass is put into its proper place.  As I said it’s a showcase.  A nature center is more concerned with keeping the land the way it was kept before we started building stuff.  It’s more natural.

Both spaces have their purpose.  Both have some kind of foundation to help financially keep the place going.  They may charge a small admission fee but that barely keeps the lights on.  That supporting group may sell plants in the spring or have special tours and classes during the summer.  Take advantage of those things.  Even if you don’t have the money to donate ask about volunteer opportunities and donate your time.  If you are enjoying the gardens make an effort to pay it forward, so your kids can enjoy them also.

Pack out what you pack in.

 

Wild Flowers

I wrote before that I don’t know a lot about the flowers and trees that I see then I go hiking.  I usually research that when I get home but I did do a little research on wild flowers for this blog.

Marion Edsall in her book “Roadside Plants and Flowers” makes a very interesting point.  “Many of the wayside plants . . . are ‘aliens’ in the biological sense . . .”  They come from the “Old World” either on purpose or by accident.  It makes me wonder what was here before we of European decent invaded the land.

Ox-Eye Daisy

Another great book I checked out from the library gave a more in depth way of identifying the wild flowers you find on the trail.  “Wildflowers of Wisconsin” written by Stan Tekiela is very well organized.  Mr. Tekiela divides his book by color of flower, size of plant then by the appearance of the flowers (clustered, bell shaped, etc.).  He also looks at the leaf shape and how they are attached to the stem (opposite, alternately, etc.).

Both books were very informative but kind of heavy.  I wouldn’t have room for lunch on my backpack if I hauled them on the trail.  Yeah, you’re right I could get a bigger back pack or eat a smaller lunch.  But doing the research when I get home is more fun for me.  I stop every 20 feet to take pictures, which means it takes me about 45 minutes to hike a mile of trail.  It would take me an hour if I looked every plant up on the trail.

Whether you decide to lug books with you or do your research later doesn’t matter just get outside and enjoy the flowers.

Pack out what you pack in.

 

Sources:

Roadside Plants and Flowers by Marian S. Edsall; University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI; © 1985 Board of Regents UW System.

Wildflowers of Wisconsin:  Field Guide by Stan Tekiela; Adventure Publications, Cambridge, MN; © 2000