limerick 39

when mother goose had her first brood,

a rift in her marriage ensued:

her high steppin’ gander

began to philander

whenever he felt in the mood

–photo by me

writer’s block (shadorma)

writers’ minds

may hold the small seeds

of some great

ideas

and yet, they may find themselves

waiting for the wind

–photo by me

meadow magic

there are meadows

in the forests

ever shrouded

by the trees,

where daisies

dance with fairies

when there’s magic

in the breeze;

where elves and imps

and pixies too

come from

everywhere

to dance among

the flowers

when there’s magic

in the air

Lady Slippers

There were certain girls in high school so beautiful that they could get any of us insecure young boys to carry their books, even though we knew that we were just being used; that’s what the Lady Slipper orchid reminds me of.

They are also very beautiful, especially the Pink Lady Slipper, Minnesota’s State Flower. They lure unsuspecting bees into their pink little pods through a one-way opening. Once inside, the bees find out there is no nectar for them, the usual payment for their help in pollination, and are, in fact, trapped inside.

Upon wrestling around to make their way to a small hole in the back, they shed any pollen they might have brought in on the plant’s female reproductive parts, and when they squeeze through the small opening in the back to escape, little packets of pollen from the male reproductive parts stick to their backs.

So they end up carrying the load without getting any nectar. Sounds familiar, all right.

–Photo by me

Silent Sunday 6/26/22

–Photos by me

Shot of the Day 6/24/22

Lil Blue Eyes was the saddest fawn I’d ever seen. She’d barely had time to dry off in this world when her mama crossed paths with modern civilization on the highway and left her to the wolves. Luckily, she was rescued by my farmer friend, who took her home and introduced her to all the barnyard denizens on her farm. Amazingly, she was befriended by all. Her family now includes many horses and their foals, dozens of cats and dogs, and one very fat-but-friendly hog. The sadness seems to be lifting.

–Photos by me

Inner Spaceships

The ships are coming!

Can’t you see them?

Their dark sails fill

The entire night sky

Advancing, advancing–

Can’t you hear them?

The collective roar

Of their vast armada

Thunders in my ears–

Can’t you feel them?

Their other-worldliness

Is already upon me

Permeating my mind–

The ships are coming!

Turtles

I was out on a bicycle ride yesterday when I came upon a huge, mossy-backed snapping turtle on the side of the road. It was obvious that she was laying a clutch of eggs–right there, inches from the busy highway! I would have wagged my finger at her for such wanton indiscretion, but she could’ve snapped it off like a twig, so I kept my distance. Very few of the typical hundred or so turtle hatchlings survive as it is, but these will literally be left by the side of the road. It seems strange to me, but turtles have been around for a couple hundred million years, so they must be doing something right.

Whenever I run into a turtle, it reminds me of that anecdote about a science teacher who was explaining the physics of the earth in space to his class, when one of the students stood up and said that the earth rests on the back of a great turtle. When asked by the teacher what that turtle rests on, the student replied, “It’s turtles all the way down.”