yesterday's walk

i went anticipating
fallen leaves

and potted mums

benches sitting
stately

i was not
disappointed


*This post is directly tied to yesterday's post; so you might want to check it out if you missed it. I must say, i go on these walks with anticipation......and i am never, ever, disappointed. In addition to the joy of fulfilled anticipation there is a sense of being "upheld" or "sustained" by these simple little expeditions into the world of nature. Hope you have time to explore her this week too. :)

looking forward

what a lovely day
for a walk
it shall be

another chance to shuffle
through crackly leaves

to see mums in their pots
and benches sitting stately

another day of sunlight
through maples

another day

possibilities

telephone poles
dead grass and gravel
rich black earth
and paths ahead to travel



*Ah, how interesting and fun it is to choose a picture for a posting each day. I chose this one today because it depicts a common Kansas scene in November. The colors of the landscape are muted for the most part and things seem still….there is quiet in the country. But there is also “possibility”. With the tool of  panning my camera, I came up with a new take on this simple scene. One that I really like. To me it is playful, fun, and mysterious. It tempts me to take an “off the beaten track” approach to my day. I hope it inspires you in some way. If it doesn’t maybe Shel Siversteins’ words will:

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."

— Shel Silverstein

wind through the prairie

the wind was alive

in the plains yesterday

pouring out her presence

on man, beast,

and open prairie

a reminder of change

she was

autumn to winter

life to death

and back to life

again

* I hadn't thought of how the wind ushers in both winter and spring until i wrote this post today. Change is one thing we will always have with us. I'm learning to ty and "flex" with it. :)



commanding color



when i see such color

crisp and

clean

so rich
in such a subtle scene

my heart sometimes doth
skip a beat

for colors,
like weapons,
do defeat

the darkness
of a damaged
world



*Today, I am thankful for color. We could be living in a black and white world. We are not. There is a powerful significant reason for color. Hope you see a lot of it today.

thanksgiving thoughts

as morning dawns
across the land
from ocean sand
to mountain peak

may the weak
rejoice

for One has come;

a Rock

to offer safety
from the storm

to be a balm
through any harm


Happy Thanksgiving one and all! I’m thankful today for my Rock; for family, friends, and all number of things!


P.S. Thought I would surprise you with a “non-Kansas” scene. This shot was taken on Martha’s Vineyard.

nature's simplicity

another reason to remember
why i cherish sweet november

color in the woods



i saw bittersweet this morning

and thought of you

bitter your passing

sweet the memories

you left behind

and the orange against

brown

like hope

"springing eternal"



tiny one

winter is coming, oh
little one

but your feathers are not ruffled
in the least

for your tiny feet
are settled
in the twinkling

of the here
and

now







*Good great morning to whomever is out there! I stepped out onto the deck this morning. The sky is quite grey today, the air carries the heavy fragrance of moisture. Is there a better smell? It is a true November day and I hear the birds singing and making their way through leafless dry timber. One day soon, I will step out and there will be no birdsong as they will all be tucked under cover of snow. What a joy these tiny creatures are. What wonderful lessons they have to teach us. Today, I’ll be thinking of this little one and of the words: “not a sparrow falls without His knowing…..”

ode to a grill



















Oh rusty grill
I see you
Standing guard

Strong
Yes, vital

And attractive

Such things you must have seen

I imagine you on country roads
Ambling past sunflowers and
Horses

Then years gone by and you are
Heading down the highway
Meeting sleek silver specialty grills

Gorgeous in design

If you had a hat you
Would tip it
To them

Appreciating their style and
Beauty

But
You would not think of changing places

You have seen too much
You have too many memories
Both good and bad
that
Envy does not even seek to enter through
Your bars

Oh
How I so

Appreciate you



*Do you suppose that my entering a new decade has anything to do with my recent posts???? :):) I imagine so…..but no matter. I do  love old trucks, cars, and anything with rust. I always have. I hope you can see some beauty in them too. Thanks for checking in.



character





oh little tractor

old and worn

thank you for adorning my day
with your presence

you think your days passed
as you see gigantic john deere
crisp and green unloaded in the
lot before you

ah but friend,
they have not, nor will they
ever see
what you have seen

they have not, nor will
ever
have the touch
of your owner’s hand upon them

to me, oh little one
you are much grander
much more beautiful
much more wise

handle

i told a friend recently
that all the images
in my files

are like kids to me

and like a doting mother,
i find something in each one
beguiling, winsome,
or beautiful



*I love this particular image for it’s texture, its rustic beauty,  the memories it evokes of childhood rides in the pickup truck, and for the reminder that today I will have things to handle and I will have a choice as to how I handle them.



november walk



like balm to the body

is a november walk

to the soul

*In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~John Muir

november grasses



mornings find them

quiet

waiting for the break of
day

in afternoon they sway
to breezes cool

i see them
swoon under
november’s wolf moon
each blade

separate

but together
these simple things called grasses
elicit

a rich deep color

i will call
faith

kansas in november

 a cold breeze
carries golden leaves
as pheasants head to roost

bright orange pumpkins
left unpicked
go soft

as does the light
of evening

so many sacred things
happen

in november


* I took a morning drive today with the express purpose of taking some images during my favorite month of the year. I ended up at Reece's Apple farm and took the two photos you see in today's blog. They are both from the mural painted on the front of Reece's building. The fact that the paint was chipping and peeling only added to my pleasure of this scene. It brought back so many memories of growing up on the farm. I hope you are enjoying a lovely november wherever you are.





the creek

like a friend

she empathizes with my

moods

she knows dry times
and times when she can’t seem to
move
frozen, as it were

sometimes she rushes
hurrying
hurrying to
her destination

other times it is as though
she skips with joy

but mostly she is calm
radiating peace
and always

always

she reflects
an everlasting
glory

november morning

like silent bales on a misty
morning

so will i wait
for
You


*"True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."     ~William Penn

a sign

 i found this image
under
"ordinary day"

STOP
it cried

in no way
is there ever
an ordinary
day

*Seeing this photo this morning reminded me to take moments through this very extraordinary day to "stop", "see", and breathe a word of thanks. Hope you see something beautiful in what seems ordinary today. :)

carried

like am amber leaf
carried

i am free
on the winds of Your love

November Subtlety

I missed her
The month of October,
Due to things beyond my
Control

And the older I get
The more of those things
There are
I seem to realize

But November
Will never slip by me

Her subtlety
Stirs
The depths of me

And I am thrilled that
She knows my
Name

Looking through my file of quotes I was happy to see that Mr. Frost agrees with me:


My sorrow when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.

- Robert Lee Frost, My November Guest

November Reflections

Our true life lies at a great depth within us. Our restlessness and weaknesses are in reality merely strivings on the surface.
                                            ~Emanuel Swedenborg


Welcome back dear reader,
or, perhaps I should welcome myself, the writer gone astray
maybe better put, the writer who has been restless and
striving on the surface.

No matter,
for this day,
i’m back to the love of words,
beauty,
and divine order.

*(If your day is filled with restlessness, relax and let the depths rise within.)