Beyond Imagining (Oklahoma Tornado)

I don’t have a TV so have not been able to see much video coverage of the Oklahoma tornado. It seems just beyond conception, at least my conception. Thoughts, prayers, go to everyone out there.

Raising Rocks (and Reptiles)

Thumbsplitter (Update)

The above, believe it of not, is supposed to be a mantis shrimp (a super-violent shrimp–for a shrimp)–confronting a very brave dog and elephant.

The mantis shrimp, known also as the thumbsplitter, is not actually a shrimp. It does, however, has both a super-aggressive personality and a little hammer claw which is supposed to hit like a low-caliber bullet.

I have not run into any mantis shrimp, but I am FINALLY beginning to work on one of my old novel manuscripts. It’s taken a lot of time for me to get down to it, and much of that time is spent worrying about blogging and poetry, I really miss the blogging community. I miss the daily engagement both with fellow bloggers and with a short doable piece or prompt. But I am also acutely aware that I can’t at the moment “have it all” = if I were to spend my free time blogging and poeticising (even a short poem), I would have little time or energy to deal with my “novels”.

So, I’m a bit miserable. I feel like I am confronting one of these nasty thumbsplitters. (Worst of all, the irritable shrimp is myself!)

But I am getting down to work at last on a few other projects. We’ll see how long it lasts!

Horri-bingers of Spring (Flash 55)

Horri-bingers of Spring

Fleck on neck–speck you expect
is just dang skin playing tricks on you–
new mole that close shows
itssier-than-spider legs.
Crawled through spring’s
awakening, dropped
from greening limbs, it wants truly
to suck your blood
but without benefit
of HBO–
Ixodes dammini–damn
Ixodes – it’s not fed
for months; finds you,
dear.

**************************************
This ditty to the deer tick (spreader of Lyme’s Disease) was written for ironic Isadore Gruye’s prompt on With Real Toads that lookd at the underside of spring, and also -early!–for the G-Man. (Fifty-five, without the title, little red-black seeds–wait, those aren’t seeds–)

Deer ticks are horrible–may they never alight on you.

I’ve edited since posting– reference to HBO is meant to refer to True Blood series – I confess to having read the books but not seen the series – so perhaps should be “without benefit of Charlaine Harris.” Sookie Stackhouse, I guess, I am not.

Slender Canopy

I am posting this photo from a mobile device and am a little worried that it won’t show in full on a non-mobile device – i.e. regular computer. The telephone pole is supposed to be in the exact center – it got there, sort of, by accident, but that is where it is supposed to be. If it doesn’t show up properly first look, it will if you click on the photo.

So far, my blog break has not been very productive in terms of writing, but I have done a lot of escapist reading! Though photos are of the country, I have been in and out of New York doing escapist reading in much of my free time, even walking on the sidewalk. It is possible (if I do not get hit by a car or other pedestrian) that this is useful as part of the problem with the novel manuscripts I am trying to rewrite is that I need to make the plots move more quickly. Escapist reading is very informative in terms of giving one samples of quickly moving plots. Escapist reading while walking on a city sidewalk is very useful in terms of learning to skip one’s self along quite quickly at times – like when crossing the street. So… so… so… perhaps it is useful. I do find it hard to work on a big project in small snatches of time–and I miss the fun and engagement of smaller pieces – but will keep trying a bit longer. (Or maybe will cheat a bit more and write some short pieces!) At any rate, thanks much for stopping by. k.

Blossoms

 

Unfortunately, this photo when first posted only showed up partially as the App upload was too big.  I just love the line down to the green leaves and the pear blossoms in the background.  The great thing about old blossoming trees is that you can have beautiful flowers without having had to plant them!

Happy Mother’s Day

Memory of Back Seat of Car (Both as Mom and Child)

Yes, the image is sentimental.  But so are many happy memories.

A happy day to all who’ve held someone’s head in their lap, or had their head held.  (It was an experience that could even make carsickness feel okay, and a comfort that I, at least, have carried through my whole life.)