Tennessee Mudbug

Two Peas in a Pod...

2012-02-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

if I could be a vegetable

i would want to be a pea

in a pod with a pea

snuggled up next to me.

it would need to be a lengthy pod

for my honey pea and me

to make room for baby pea

in case we made pea whoopee!

Back Then

2011-12-03T05:46:00.000-08:00

Radical Sixteen- new school(with girls!), protesting war, smoking pot, interested in the 'classroom of life'.

Well, that's it! All 16 words for this our 83rd week of Saturday Centus. This was a good short exercise, as I like to ponder the past sometimes. It may be apparent to you that the photo is not of moi when i was 16. I do however find it interesting to look at this picture and wonder what I was pondering...did I have some idea as to how divergent I would become from my upbringing, and how troublesome I would become to my mother. Perhaps it was all starting right there at that moment behind that pensive look. Ah...the idyllic and promising 50s would soon give way to the turbulent 60s, and the rest is history as they say. Wish I still had that blond hair ;-)Peace and blessings

Asking for Forgiveness

2011-11-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

"We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing", when we should really be asking his forgiveness for abiding a country whose leaders applaud and abet active citizen protest in the Middle East at the same time denigrating and pepper spraying those engaged in such here. We should ask his forgiveness for abiding a situation where an infant in Milwaukee has a 220% greater chance of dying than an infant in Guangzhou China, for abiding a situation where one in five of our children live in poverty, and for abiding a system of law that does not apply to large corporations or the wealthy. We should however ask the Lord's blessings to empower us to change our ways.

Peace and blessings to you all...

http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/economic-decline-elevated-infant-mortality-go-handinhand-in-53210-zip-code-mh2kv7l-133758368.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027013/Child-poverty-1-5-American-children-living-poverty.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGRXCgMdz9A&feature=share

Trapped

2011-11-12T06:38:00.000-08:00

Confined in this wheelchair, body trapped by insidious disease, mind trapped by body, I watch the world go by, as I often do from this sunny perch on my porch. I cannot engage the world on my own terms. Sophisticated computer technology enables me to read, write, scan the internet, and look at photographs. I find myself often staring at this one photograph...a group of young kids in their golden soccer jerseys and black shorts, getting last minute instructions from their coach. I wonder about this one girl with her short, wildly red hair, marked by the #6 on the back of her jersey. Half step back from the group, obviously confident, no need to listen. A striker for sure with one mission, to secure the ball on a breakaway and with a confident sharp strike send the ball to the back of the net. Am I reading too much into this picture, which seemingly shows so little? Perhaps, except that I was that #6, confident striker, the one serving up the goals. Now, confined in this wheelchair, body trapped by disease, mind trapped by body, a future entrapped by memory...

If I Die Young

2011-08-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

I do not fear

an early departure for me.

It is she I worry about.

This I plainly see.

I will be cruising the cosmos

on gossamer wings.

She will be left here on earth

dealing with my things.

If I die young,

I hope she knows

of the love deep inside

that everyday grows

in me...

Lost in Space

2011-08-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

Plasma ray torpedoes fired...

how would I escape...?

Suddenly woken

from my nightmare...

bright light pouring in

to starboard window...

star sucked into black hole...

Magnificent!

Spaceometer reading 8 b ly...

CPS unit reading...

FAILURE!

A laugh out loud moment...

save for being lost...

at the edge...

of the universe.

Rainbow of My Mind

2011-08-06T04:46:00.000-07:00

delicate seed planted

in god's rich earth...

lucky to sprout,

determined to survive...

stalk reaching to sky,

bending to sun,

swaying

the

rhythm

of fickle breezes...

bursting forth

with bud,

none too soon

for me...

petals unfolding,

blossom revealing

the rainbows

in my mind...

the musical color

in the depths

of my soul...

"Vous etes mon soleil,

apport de la lumiere

a ma nuit foncee"

Thus, my offering for this week's Centus...prompted by the famous song title, "You are my sunshine." A lovely song, a delightful, swaying melody...one undoubtably sung from many a saddle...please take the time to check out what often prove to be remarkable stories, poetry and such at Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus. I am now going to check out the last 7 entries from last week...because I should, and because it will give me twice the chance to win Jenny's special prize...and I'm all for prizes ;-)

Desert Summers

2011-07-30T04:41:00.000-07:00

the heat, yes

the desert

summer day.

as 'they' say,

you could cook

an egg

on the sidewalk.

hurrying from car

to building,

spending little time

in energy

sapping

sun.

oh, but those

desert nights,

those cool

desert nights.

like this night,

this moonless,

eggless night.

cold Margarita

in hand.

my company,

the saguaro,

the coyote.

i lay back

in my

lounging chair,

looking upward

to the sky...

star studded,

like a diamond

broach, pinned

against

The Universe...

Whatever you call this writing attempt...perhaps poetry of sorts...it is based on our Saturday Centus prompt which, this week, is a photograph of what appears to be an egg cooking on a hot sidewalk.

Gets in the Way

2011-07-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

before I die, I want to...

learn how to forgive.

without forgiveness,

little else of deep meaning

is possible...

Who, Where, Why...

2011-07-23T04:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday Centus #64. Just when I was in the mood to write the perfect vignette story, hoping that somehow Jenny was going 'out of the box' and maybe allow us 200 words...good luck! This week our prompt is nearly as long as our word restraint of 15. This suggests that 1) Jenny is not a mind reader...at least not mine, and 2) that our teacher is in charge...'do or die'...speaking of death, and not that I care to ponder its morbidity, our prompt goes something like this..."before I die I want to..." Suffice it that a mere 15 words would not begin to cover this subject. I am ok with that inasmuch as I believe I have lived many lives before this one, so, perhaps what I did not get to in this one, just maybe I covered before or will get to later. Point is, it seems, is that doing this or that, going here and there, having such and such is not important...the importance in it all may lie in the emotions...the clarity of that moment, those moments when we have that feeling, those feelings that are beyond words, beyond description...the moment which fuses past, present, future, and the whole of the universe into a precise, unexplainable 'entity...' I have tried to capture such a moment with this photograph. Now I will give a go and try to explain in what are obviously too few words, my desire.

before I die I want to...

know the truth...

who we are...

where did we come from...

why we are here...

Peace and blessings

Short and to the Point

2011-07-16T04:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday Centus...and 25 words...oh my...5, 25, 50, 100...I can do this, I can do anything. I may not be getting any younger, but I am getting better...although my creative vision often trumps my abilities to put vision to paper. Somehow though, as usually happens, the vision came to me in an instant...question is can I translate the feel of the moment in so few words? Perhaps with a little ESP working, some of you might feel it, see it, wrap your heads around it...I hope so.

"Anything else hon?"

"No, thanks."

She returned with the check...and an unexpected note...

I'm off at 11...meet me out front...

What the heck, I'm not getting any younger...

Home...Not This Time

2011-07-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Some years had passed since I had left home. I had wanted to visit many times, it was just that...you know...my parents and I had not truly 'gotten along'. I left home under less than desirable circumstances. Back then it felt more like an 'escape' than a simple departure. Over the years I realized that you cannot run away from your past, and cultivated the hope that 'time heals everything'.

I left the interstate, deciding to drive the rest of the way through the countryside and small towns along Rt. 66. The miles ticked away as I passed through familiar places...Venita, White Oak, Bushyhead...the small towns forever etched in my childhood memories...all unchanged. Just past Bushyhead, something however did change. The landscape was unfamiliar. Had the distraction of childhood memories caused me to take a wrong turn? I could see a road sign in the distance. As I got closer I could read it, and the sign read...Hwy. 666...

Lost In Translation

2011-07-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

What if Francis Scott Key, a young, aspiring, 34 year old lawyer and amateur poet, had used his cell phone to text his poem, Defence of Ft. McHenry...a poem inspired by the view of a large, 30' x 42' American flag, made by Mary Young Pickersgill and her 13 year old daughter Caroline, and for that moment flying over Ft. McHenry...texting it to his dear wife Mary, as she huddled in their home with their 11 children during the war of 1812?

Well, it would have read something like this..."OsA cn UC by d dawn's erly lyt...OsA dz dat (*) spangled banner yet ~~~, over d l& of d fre n d hom of d brave"...

and...what if he had not be feeling poetically inclined? Well, he might have texted her saying..."Mary cn UC d big (_!_) flag @ d fort?" And if he had done that, then what would folks incorrectly mumble the lyrics to at ball games?

Thank you for bearing with me today and translating my silly attempt at interpreting our Saturday Centus prompt, "O! say can you see". Please check out what will certainly be an interesting and thoughtful collection of writings, poems and such at Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus.

World Inside a Grain of Sand

2011-06-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

Why is it so hard to be as good as I want to be? I seek a certain perfection...not perfection as we might think. I am not a perfect success. I am not a perfect writer, poet, artist. I was not perfect in my careers. I am not a perfect husband or father, although those attributes would be worth the challenge I think. I have not perfectly challenged and beaten back the fears and anxieties of life, although I have spent some thought and time seeking that. The perfection I seek is more one of attitude and disposition. I want to achieve perfection in understanding, compassion, empathy, love, forgiveness. On the surface it may seem that these attributes are simple, free, instantly accessible. We do not have to cross an ocean to find them. We do not have to climb tall mountains seeking them. We do not have to hone our skills for years to know them...or do we? Can an eternity of compassion be found in a moment? Could all the love of the cosmos be contained in a small box just in front of me, within reach, if I could only, truly open my 'eyes' and see it? Could love, compassion and all that I seek be contained in that grain of sand in my pocket?

Why is it hard to be as good as I want to be? Perhaps I am where I am meant to be...need to be...

A Short Note To Say...

2011-06-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Men in the trenches

of that big foreign war

left loved ones behind

as they walked out the door.

"Dear John", the many

thousands of letters would read,

'I have found someone else

who'll better fill my need'.

Often no details were given,

more often a short note...

"Dear John, love you, goodbye",

and that's all she wrote.

Yes, its Saturday, and not just any Saturday. It is Saturday Centus, #60 celebration!! Woo-hoo!! Whoopee!!Can't believe we've made it this far through the insanity. Jenny, instead of giving me a prompt that would lend laughter to this joyous occasion, has sent me in a different and predictable direction with her "Dear John". I do hope that some of you will be able to take it in a different direction...something contrary to broken lives, broken hearts. Maybe its just me...that I am perpetually inclined to write about the sad things in life...a troubled romantic. That being said, I can't wait to read what you have written, in 60 words or less. Peace...

Domi Gutu (A Short Story)

2011-06-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday, another Centus, another opportunity to explore this universe in my cranium...to see if I can match thought to word, drawing inspiration from a prompt...much to my surprise, my own prompt, "Within the Stone". I am compelled to share with you its origin. Within the Stone is the name of a coffee table book of photographs...closeup photos of the polished surfaces of rocks...taken by Bill Atkinson. It is a remarkable book that combines free association, literary pieces from seven guest writers with some 70 photographs. As stated on the inside of the dust jacket..." Atkinson opens a vault beneath our feet, revealing to our astonished eyes the tumult of color, form, and desire hidden Within the Stone."

From early childhood to present, I have been a lover of rocks, stones, geology...and photography. With this book, Mr. Atkinson is speaking to my passions. I was once told I had spent a past life as an Egyptian stone mason, working on the pyramids. When I heard this it all made sense to me...

Help, I'm a Rock

- Frank Zappa

Domi Gutu (A Short Story)

Sun shining hot

repressive, voracious

sucking energy

my lifeblood from me...

Circumstance of fate

tore me from my village

my family,

dropping me in

this hell.

Grubby, bloody hands

scooping rock, mud, water

into round, screened pan.

Within the stone

lies my misery,

and redemption.

Amidst these hot depths

of terraced, muddy walls,

I hear the voices...

my wife, my children

calling...

Tamba, we love you

Tamba, come home...

"I ti der bepi okuru o solo" ( I shall come, God willing)

The Wall

2011-06-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

The wall was built long ago, by whom no one is certain. It is known to be ancient, dated to 400 AD. Cherokee legend holds that the wall was built, the area nearby inhabited, by a tall, bearded, "moon-eyed" race of people. Intriguing as these mysteries may be, this wall holds very special memories for me.

As young children, Matthew and I played over and along this thousand foot wall atop Ft. Mountain, devising make believe battles, pitting good against evil, sharing and trading our fantasy roles. As teenagers, we made love here...a small tent pitched at the base of the wall, beneath star-studded skies. Matthew was my first love...a love grown from friendship, evolved, and ultimately a relationship 'broken' by common circumstance. After high school I left to pursue an art degree at a small college in Rhode Island. Matthew left town to pursue...adventure!

Oh, we stayed in touch over the years, seeing one another on various occasions that would bring us back home. Yet, we rarely talked of our shared adventures on that mountain. Now, some 30 years since we left town, we have decided to return to the wall and see what great mysteries might await us there.

The wall was built long ago. For that we are certain. Yet, we are equally as certain that our friendship will remain long after these rocks, this wall, have crumbled into dust.

Convenient Journey

2011-06-04T04:18:00.000-07:00

The end

is not

the end.

It is

beginning

again.

It is

convenient

for those

in need

of a

destination

to mark

the journey.

Create Love, Not War

2011-05-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

The legacy of heroes

marred by the few

who would take us to war

without a clue

of who we are fighting

and what we are fighting for.

I've had enough.

I say no more.

What we need are leaders

who understand love...

that is in each of us,

that comes from above.

An eternity of warring

could come to an end.

We could start now.

Please let us begin

to heal the wounds,

forget the past...

from this moment forward

build a peace

that will last.

A Thread That Runs, Part 2

2011-05-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

It was a bright, sunny day, and all was just right as Nell rocked in harmony with the universe. Just as she was a about to take the glass of lemonade to her lips, she noticed a beautiful, golden thread leading away from the porch. She set her glass down, and followed the thread, perfectly visible, sparkling in the noonday sun. It led through the trees and across the grassy meadow. In the distance she saw what appeared to be a large, golden needle laying on the ground, the golden thread running through the eye. Just as she was about to crawl through the eye, she awoke...to the sound of Baby Jean crying...and her mother singing softly, "hush little baby, don't you cry...", soft and sweet as she had sung to her...

A Thread That Runs, Part 1

2011-05-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

The rain drops beat loudly on the metal roof of the cabin Nell called home. High atop this peaceful mountain, in the cabin in which she was born, Nell shared life with her mother Irma, grandmother Winona, and her precious Baby Jean. Nell went to school during the day, and in the evening after homework and tending to Baby Jean she would take sewing instruction from her mother and grandmother...both known throughout these hills for their superb craftsmanship.

Nell could hardly think with the din of rain on the tin roof. She was rightly tired and laid down to rest. A few minutes passed and she was fast asleep...

I'd Like To...

2011-05-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

The world is not a happy place

We've let the morons rule our space

I'd like to teach the world to sing

A song that has a happy ring

With a chorus to drown what the morons say

A refrain so sweet to brighten the day.

Marking Time

2011-05-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

"Katy and I have been married just a bit over a year. We celebrated our first anniversary last Wednesday. I spent a great deal of effort finding just the right traditional and modern anniversary gifts. She was pleased with both. As we celebrated the first of what we hoped would be many milestones, little did we know what we would face in a short few days.

Although the traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper, it is the tall grandfather clock that remains, standing amidst the ruins of our new house. It is marking time, moving forward, much as our marriage must move forward through this setback."

Congratulations to Jenny and all Centusians for our one year anniversary. I am a bit late in posting, as we had been without power for 4 days, as a result of a catastrophic storm system. This historic storm system spawned record numbers of tornadoes in our area, an area that rarely sees such dangerous phenomena. The storm system lasted for over 14 hours. Their were three tornado spawning waves. Many lives were lost. We faired much better than many, with no known damage to life or property. It was nonetheless scary. We sought refuge in the basement three times. We know many people whose lives were affected in dramatic fashion. The photograph I post with this was taken between storm waves from atop Lookout Mtn. at the hang gliding jump off spot. It is a view across Lookout Valley to Sand Mtn. Alabama. We began to see a lightning storm over Sand Mtn. and thought it was time to hurry back home to prepare for "round two". It was this very storm brewing that would spawn the EF-3 tornado which would wreak havoc and claim two lives in the community of Trenton, GA in the valley below.

Lives are forever changed here. We now have a new community mindset as regards tornadoes.

Vision Quest

2011-04-23T05:22:00.000-07:00

This week's Centus prompt is a photograph of a man dressed in a royal blue, velvet bunny suit...from the sublime to the ridiculous. How can my yearning to write something serious and deep find a resting place in such a photograph? Alas, my yearning will have to be put off to another week. I never seem to fail, however, to connect one dot with another...

starting to nod...call over the 2-way..."jeff, you need to come into the office...they want you in Texas...tomorrow"...the plains of north dakota, unique and an easy survey...yet, this familiar lunch time vista of plains rolling into sprawling lake sakakawea...soon fading into my rear-view...heading back to town...office check-in...packing gear...heading south...drive all night...no time to waste...familiar challenge...non-stop caffeine and pot...midnight snack of champions...late night radio talk iced with hard driving rock...all comes to a head when, somewhere in oklahoma i stop in the middle of the road...avoiding collision with man dressed in royal blue bunny suit... a vision for sure...vision quest i am on...few miles later blue man bunny again...then again...need to sleep...

"Fate" by Tina: A Review

2011-04-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Just when I was psyched to get all creative this morning...no, no, no...Jenny must have anticipated my desire, no, my need to let the pen flow into a new, wildly creative direction. Took the wind from my sails, she has. Jenny's challenge this week is for me to review another's work. I am to choose a post from last week's Centus...you know, the one about April showers and May flowers. Why can't she just let the May flowers come on up? Ah, but mine is not to question why...mine is but to do her bidding, or drop the class.

With all the wonderful Centus writers and posts, how could I choose which post to review? Perhaps an offering from a friend? Maybe an especially, extraordinarily good write? I will do what I often do when I start to read and comment on the posts. I shall pick something towards the end of the list, something that might go under noticed. Well, did I get lucky! There was an offering from Tina, my friend, and extraordinary writer. This is the link to her offering.

http://www.mummy-diaries.com/2011/04/saturday-centus-fate.html.

Now, on to the review.

Tina once again exhibits an amazing ability to convey the feel of a scene, and a depth of emotion with her characteristic and uncanny word choice. Her piece, titled "Fate", explores what I believe to be a broken, lesbian relationship between her central, unnamed character, and her departed lover, April. The relationship having ended three months earlier, our central character has literally closed herself up in "lonely" darkness, losing interest in all, save "staring into space", and the occasional quick, "ready" meal. All is not lost. Hope, in its often quirky, "Fate" like fashion, arrives in the form of a knock on the door, and an exceptional grin on the face of a new neighbor, appropriately named May.

No Showers Today

2011-04-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

It is time once again for Saturday Centus...that weekly, prompted, creative writing blog...brought to us by the often whimsical, always delightful Jenny Matlock. This week she has provided us with a most appropriate, definitely seasonal prompt..."April showers bring May flowers". We have all heard this 'rhyme' many, many times, yet not until this morning did I know from whence it came. In 1557, a certain gentleman, named Thomas Tusser, compiled a collection of writings he called " A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry". In the April Husbandry section he wrote:

Sweet April showers

Do spring May flowers

This short poem may reflect not only on the science of seasonality and green growing things, but on ideas of patience and longing. So, without further ado I will present my offering, a bit of a departure from my normal creative leanings.

This cliched rhyme...so compact...taking a more complex thought, process, and putting it into a short 'sound bite'. Really now, how could a shower bring flowers? Have you ever seen flowers falling from the sky in the wet grip of globulous rain drops? Maybe you have. Maybe I have, but this occurrence would not be routine. I will not regale you with the complex science behind this rhyme. That would take more than my 100 word allotment, and I am quickly running out. I will however tell you that today is THE day for my 45 year, Class of 1966, Elementary School Reunion. Yes, you read it correctly...Elementary School. As much as I love, and as much as we need, the rain...I wish for none today, and will hope that April showers bring May flowers to Jenny, out there in the desert hinterlands. Now, just who is May?

You Never Know-Part Two

2011-04-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

You Never Know- Part Two

Jenny's most recent email read,"Forrest, we have the same Spring Break coming up. You must come out for a visit." My immediate reply..."Ok...hmmm...Yes, I will."

Bags packed, grades turned in, I headed north on 188,then turned onto West I-10. Biloxi, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Las Cruces, Tucson, and finally Phoenix...so many towns and cities along this singular stretch of Interstate...so much time to think about what I would find when I reached my destination.

Within minutes of exiting I-10 onto the Superstition Highway I saw the sign, "Stapley Drive, Exit 181, 1/2 Mile Ahead". The anticipation was killing me. Nervous? Yes...but I had come to far to turn back now. In just a few minutes I would meet the person that could change the course of my life...forever. Life is like a box of chocolates...

You Never Know-Part One

2011-04-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday...another Centus...a prompted creative writing exercise brought to us by Ms. Jenny Matlock. Excluding the prompt, we can respond, in 100 words or less, via poetry, prose, really anything we wish. This week's prompt was provided by "Mr. Jenny", and reads as follows...Exit 181, 1/2 mile ahead. I have taken this prompt and created something which exceeds my 100 word limit. I will 'cheat' and turn it into a two-parter. Please note: The names and places are real, circumstances fictional.

You Never Know- Part One

So many months had passed since Jenny and I had met online. Meeting someone online was not a particularly unusual thing these days. Thousands, indeed millions, are hooking up all the time through the various online 'Matchmakers'. I would assume that most would prefer their matches to live nearby. It just so happened that I had unwittingly checked the box that left the distance thing wide open. Jenny lived near Phoenix and I in a small town west of Mobile.

We had much in common, she a writer and English professor at Mesa Community College, and myself an English teacher at Peter F. Alba Middle School in Bayou La Batre.

Christian Intruders: New Law Will Force Women to Listen to Religious Lectures Before Getting an Abortion | Gender | AlterNet

2011-03-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Christian Intruders: New Law Will Force Women to Listen to Religious Lectures Before Getting an Abortion | Gender | AlterNet

Busted for Growing Pot to Ease Suffering from Chemotherapy and Hemophilia, Couple Prepares to Surrender for 5-Year Prison Terms | Drugs | AlterNet

2011-03-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

I have decided to begin posting a news story each day. Stories may be controversial. It is my intention to engage you, to solicit your opinions, and possibly enlighten you and myself in the process.

Although there may seem to be more important issues than that of Medical Marijuana, this controversy speaks to so many issues...States Rights, Personal Rights and Healthcare, Criminal Justice, Tax Revenue Priorities.

For myself...I am convinced that if and when the Big Pharma finds a way to corner the market on prescription cannabinoids, the laws will change. I think that Big Pharma fears two things...that current state laws protecting individual rights to use medical cannabis undermines the cozy relationship that they have with the federal government, and that medical cannabis might trump the need for many of their expensive products. If the laws change across this country it will be difficult for Big Pharma to control the marketplace without the reality and/or appearance of collusion with the government.

I am anxious to hear your opinions on this subject...

Peace and blessings

Busted for Growing Pot to Ease Suffering from Chemotherapy and Hemophilia, Couple Prepares to Surrender for 5-Year Prison Terms | Drugs | AlterNet

Frank and Sue

2011-03-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

There was once a rooster named Frank

Who was married to a hen named Sue.

Frank drank, and landed in the tank.

Sue stewed and said they were through.

Frank's heart sank as he sat in the tank,

And into the corner of his cell he shrank.

But Sue, kind hearted Sue, became blue

Thinking of Frank, and their love so true.

So, Sue being musical, made up a song,

A song she sang the whole day long.

"I'm not a chicken

of the Col. Sanders kind,

finger-lickin...

I'm a lovin gal,

married to Frank,

who's in the tank

because he drank...

I'll bail him out,

we'll scream and shout

there is no doubt,

but in the end

we'll work it out.

I'm a chicken..."

This Is Your Life

2011-03-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

It was late into the evening, well past my bedtime. The novel I was reading...wonderfully engaging, difficult to put down. I placed the bookmark, thinking I would rest my eyes for a moment, then continue.

Suddenly, I found myself seated, alone in a large, dimly lit Art Deco theater. A royal, red velvet curtain ran the length of the stage. A certain warm, welcoming feeling quickly overcame my initial confusion. I sank comfortably into the cushioned chair, awaiting my 'special' performance. Slowly the curtain parted, revealing a stage filled with people...all the people I had ever known or would ever know in my lifetime...

Intelligence: A Matter of Perception

2011-03-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Ben was a kind, hard working fellow, a solid family man, and reliable friend. He had spent 38 years of his life in the maintenance department at the plant. That is until the plant closed in late 2008. Plant operations moved overseas. His pension vanished, as had his dream of a reasonably comfortable retirement for he and his wife. Although kind hearted, hard working and reliable, he had never been accused of being intelligent. Yet, somehow Ben had managed to quietly and efficiently divert some $30 million dollars from the investment account of Goldman Sach's CEO to an untraceable account in the Caymans.

Love At Any Age

2011-03-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

It is time for Saturday Centus once again. SC is a prompted writing exercise. Excluding the prompt we are to write a creative response, in 100 words or less. This week's prompt, Everything depended upon this single card..., is one that has taken me back to my elementary school days. Perhaps I have these memories on my mind because of my recent activities in helping to plan a Class of '66, elementary school reunion. Anyway, I guess I am connecting the dots. Enjoy...Peace and blessings...

To suggest that love is not important at 12, is to underestimate the power of this singular human emotion. Freddie had for months now been infatuated with Linda. As the intensity of his 'love' grew,so grew his hesitancy to express his feelings. That was about to change. The night had arrived for the Dance School Christmas Formal. Wearing meticulously shined Weejuns and a new blue suit, Freddie entered the ballroom, and immediately began to fill out his dance card.

#1 Susan

#2 Jane

#3 Margy

#4 Linda

#4 Linda!! Yes, she had #4 open. Freddie's fate was sealed. Everything depended upon this single card, and Dance Number 4. Hopefully it would be a slow song.

A $20 Bill and a Parallel Universe

2011-02-26T10:33:00.000-08:00

I am a Quantum Physics professor. Numbers and hunches are everything in this line of work. For the last week I have had a recurring dream, in which I am driving a top-down '66 T-bird along a lonely stretch of desert two-lane. In each dream I pass a billboard displaying a sequence of large numbers...38034886777...the exact numbers and sequence of my bank account, save for an additional "7" at the end. Sitting quietly in my office, I ponder the significance of this dream. Suddenly the phone rings.

" Fred...this is Alan. Would you like to join us at Grendel's for dinner and beers after work?"

" That'd be great Alan...need to stop by the ATM first. See ya a bit after 5."

I keyed in my account number and $20 withdrawal amount to the ATM machine, deciding to add the extra "7" from my dream. The ATM machine began dispensing twenties...and more twenties until my satchel was packed with $20 dollar bills.

Stay tuned for the continuing story...

All I Can Offer

2011-02-19T05:48:00.000-08:00

The sun sets over the western mountains. My thoughts briefly turn to home...a distant place, a fading memory. Centuries of war, the fears of men, the struggle for power over wealth and people have brought me to this place...where my power is limited, seemingly insignificant...power perhaps only in determining the future of my comrades on either side of me. I'd take a bullet for the man on my left. I'd catch a grenade for you on my right. In this senseless war, in this strange place, this is all I can offer. Perhaps it is enough.

A Poem Of Love

2011-02-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

Never quite certain

From whence I came

Or where I am going

Could be the same.

If that be true

Destinations cede

Importance to the journey

For you and me.

That we love

That we laugh

That we live...

Each moment's success

Hinging on how much we give.

Give of our souls

Created to be shared

Their warmth and comfort

Should not be spared.

So on this day

Reserved normally for two

I share my self, my soul

With all of you.

Superman Redux

2011-02-12T06:06:00.000-08:00

I think that Jenny must have had a really bad week, and unfortunately Saturday Centusians were the only easy targets for frustration ventilation. I looked at our assignment using this somewhat obtuse photographic prompt and thought to myself, "What have I done to Jenny to cause this...this...I can't think of the words to describe my feelings, or perhaps I can't write them in a nice way..." Nonetheless, I can find a way to make lemonade from lemons. I am 'Super Writer' !! My offering below will most likely never claim space on a Hallmark Card...or any card for that matter. Suffice it to say, it will for now, and forever be my Love Song to Miss Jenny and All Saturday Centusians...Peace and blessings for all the love you can give and all that you get...may this Valentine's Day be your best yet!!

"I wish that I could cry

Fall upon my knees

Find a way to lie

About a home I'll never see...

I'm more than a bird...I'm more than a plane..."

Those words, that song

Remind me of that day

My whole life long.

When you sniffed my bottom,

You made a pass...

Dreams of life together,

We knew it could not last...

(ps...thanks to John Ondrasik for allowing me use of lyrics from the wonderful, Five For Fighting song, Superman)

Sue and Hugh

2011-02-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

Once again, Saturday is upon us, and with the arrival of the anticipated weekend, comes another opportunity to explore our creative writing wherewithal with the weekly meme, Saturday Centus. It is brought to us by the illustrious Ms Jenny Matlock, a quite accomplished writer indeed. SC provides a prompt, given this week by Miss Ames. This week's prompt is "It was growing bigger by the minute..."

WARNING!! My offering this week may be a bit beyond our normal PG rating (not much mind you). If this be bothersome, please do not venture beyond this point. It does prove that I have versatility beyond my normal uplifting, 'feel good' offerings. So without further ado, and hopefully not risking my good standing in the class, here we go. Oh, and BTW, for those word counters, I have managed this in under 100 words.

There was once a lusty cowgirl from Stinnett called Sue,

Whose bestest beau was a strapping cowboy named Hugh.

Hugh and Sue's life on the range was great, even grand,

Until that day when Hugh couldn't meet Sues,ummm, sexual demand.

Not meaning to be callous, Sue ordered some Cialis from Dallas,

Which, as we know, could cure Hugh's problematic phallus.

The package of Cialis was promptly shipped from Dallas to Stinnett.

They opened the bottle and Hugh took the pill that was in it,

And to their amazement,it was growing bigger by the minute.

Sunset Heron

2011-02-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

This photograph is posted in response to the weekly photo blog, Weekend Reflections. I encourage you to visit and check out some amazing reflection photography...Peace

One Journey Ends...Another Begins

2011-01-30T06:41:00.000-08:00

Its Saturday Centus time once again...a time to explore our creative writing wherewithal. So, with a fabulous prompt from Judie, and hopefully in 100 words or less, let the writing begin. This week's prompt is in bold italics. Please go to Saturday Centus and check out some wonderful short pieces of juicy writing... Namaste...

Belying her outward, calm confidence, Christine had led a life of unsettled disconnectedness. Adopted as a baby, she had, for as long as she could remember, felt a certain resentment, yet not knowing who or what to resent. It was as if her legs had been amputated, leaving her with a life-long debilitating handicap.

Christine spent the last two years acquiring her adoption records and subsequently searching for her biological mother, only to find out she had passed on two months earlier. Saddened, yet sufficiently determined to see this through, she traveled to her mother's home to meet her 'family' and to find out about her roots.

The family allowed Christine to go through her mother's effects. She came across a large trunk containing bundles of letters. As she lifted the stacks of letters from the ancient chest, a certain warmth of hope came over her...hope that she would at last find connection, and that her mother had not lost that which connects a mother and child.

Ghost Crow

2011-01-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

I love crows and am forever fascinated by their intelligence and persistence through all types of weather. A recent snowstorm brought a few to some bird seed spilt on the ground beneath my bird feeders. I knew that if I opened my front door they would spook and fly off. So, I took this shot through a beveled, sidelight window. The beveled edge of the glass gave up this interesting "Ghost Crow"reflection?

Namaste...

This image is posted as a response to Weekend Reflections, hosted by James. Please take time to visit his blog and check out the many wonderful reflection photographs.

Alien Adventure

2011-01-22T06:43:00.000-08:00

Another Saturday Centus...another opportunity to do some creative writing...writing based on a written or visual prompt. More importantly, a test to see if I can do it in the prescribed 100 words or less. This week's prompt takes us in a new direction...to use the prompt "Beam me up Scotty", and write something in the sci-fi genre. I like sci-fi...a lot. Funny thing that I had been involved in some hands on sci-fi work and writings this past week, and had actually written the words "Beam me up Scotty". So, my Centus work today is based on this strange occurrence from this past week...not a rehash mind you, but a more concise and fresh approach. I would not want to feed you literary leftovers. If you would like the more complete story check out my post, Snalien Adventure.

My propensity for believing all is possible was tested yesterday. Gazing out to my snow-covered yard, I saw five, small, pastel-colored alien-like creatures. I quickly put on my clothes and stepped outside, walking slowly towards them. By some strange and mystical fashion we were able to communicate...that they were Snaliens from the planet Alkazeltzera, and had come to mine snow, a most important, life-supporting element for Snaliens. I communicated that they could have all they wanted, and offered to help them. After we had filled their golden spaceship, they asked if I would like to journey back with them to Alkazeltzera. I smiled, and quietly said, "Beam me up Scotty".

The Journey Begins

2011-01-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Another Saturday, another Centus...or should we say quarter centus, quentus perhaps? As if I do not normally struggle to confine my writings to 100 words...this week we are allowed only 25. Well, I can play this game by golly! The sentence below is my offering to the quentus gods...our prompt in bold italics. What's next...a uni-centus? I've got a word in mind for that one...Peace and blessings...

With the lottery ticket in his pocket, and an innate desire to change the world in his heart, Ben journeyed from his small hometown to claim his future.

Snalien Adventure

2011-01-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

We have had near record amounts of snow this past week, and plenty of cold weather to go with it. It snowed and snowed, and stayed and stayed. We did not get out in a car until yesterday afternoon. For some reason I felt compelled to do the snowman thing. I came up with a novel approach to it using an alien theme...thusly "Snaliens". The story follows the photos...Enjoy...peace and blessings

Francois

Pierre

Francois and Pierre

Genevieve

Francois, Pierre and Genevieve

Francois, Pierre, Genevieve, Elvis and Winona

Elvis and Winona

Motur

Story

Day 1-
Do not fear, my little woodland creature friends. I am a Snalien. I come in peace, searching for snow. Our race needs snow for fuel, water, food...I am made of snow. I will fill my golden spaceship with your snow and return to Alkazeltera. Our Snalien world will be saved! Thank you little woodland creatures.

Day 2-

The Snalien story continues...just yesterday we had a visitor here on West Watkins St....a Snalien(the one on the left) from the planet Alkazelztera in search of snow. In short supply on Alkazelztera, snow is essential for life for the Snaliens. Being we have such an abundance of the stuff, they decided to come here to mine snow, fill their golden spaceship and return home. The woodland creatures were the first to greet our new guest yesterday. I quickly followed with a formal welcome, and found out that the Snalien goes by the name of Francois...perhaps born in Quebec? Well, back to snow mining. Francois had to call reinforcements...(rememberthere is a butt load of snow). Lo and behold, Pierre arrived today via an Alkazelztera Super Shuttle to assist Francois with the snow mining. Our friendly woodland creatures were out to welcome Pierre. With all this snow, I can only wonder if Francois and Pierre will need more assistance?? Perhaps I will offer them a hand...

Day 3-

Well, it's been mighty cold, and such hard work mining snow...the boys decided they needed some female company. So, by super duper fast Alkazelzertan shuttle comes their bestest friend, Genevieve. Genevieve has beautiful blue eyes and ruby-red lips...and such delicate hands, not meant for snow mining. Looks like she might be a good back scratcher. Perhaps our friendly woodland creatures will come welcome her shortly.{please note that I do not intend this as a sexist story...I'm just having fun}

I did find out why these Snaliens have French names. They did indeed visit Quebec on another snow mining mission. Their Alkazelzteran Snalien names are just to impossible to pronounce. French names are so beautiful and just roll off the tongue. Their hosts in Quebec thought these names would be easier.

I am not certain yet as to the relationship of our trio, one to the other...boyfriend, girlfriend, just friends...I'm not sure...and I know little of Snalien culture. I will keep you posted on any new developments. Beam me up Scotty ;-)

Day 4-

Wow! You would not believe what has been happening here since Genevieve arrived on the scene yesterday. This morning I went out to see if they needed anything and lo and behold there were two new Snaliens...and they did not arrive by shuttle from Alkazeltzera. Two new baby Snaliens. I do not understand their culture or biology so I cannot comment further on just what happened?? Their parents (not sure who's who or what or how) named them, but as I said before, Snalien names are quite impossible to pronounce, so I decided to give these cuties some down home southern names...Elvis is on the left(notice the resemblance?) and sweet Winona with the beautiful purple feather hair. So what started as one lone visitor from the planet Alkazelztera has now become one large happen family of Snaliens.

Other developments: Snalien arch enemy, Motur, from the planet Calrondu, crash landed here today. I have been in negotiations with Motur for most of the day. Motur would normally eat Snaliens. Using my finest skills of intergalactic mediation, I have convinced Motur to leave my Snalien friends alone. In exchange for this brief peace amongst intergalactic residents, I have offered my enormous skills at spacecraft repair to help him return to his home planet. I will hope that he will take this bit of good hospitality home with him and convince others from Calrondu that war is not the answer. Out in the galaxy as here on Earth, love is and will be the only solution.

I will keep you posted on further developments (I am trying to convince our large Snalien family to return here after they have delivered the life saving snow back to Alkazeltzera)...I remain hopeful...

Quiet Resolve

2011-01-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

The snow gone from the ground, springtime sounds and scents blanketed her world. Her crumpled up list of resolutions lay dusty in that corner. The wrinkles of the paper secreting wishes and hopes made hastily, like pudding. The wrinkles of the paper, like the wrinkles of her face, revealing a wisdom acquired over time...understanding that winter is not a good time for change.

Tis a Hopeful Season

2010-12-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

It was Christmas Eve 1934. Large snowflakes were gently drifting downward to the streets of Manhattan. The stores were closing early, the sidewalks bustling with last minute shoppers. Albert had been a Macy's Santa going on ten years. He and his wife Katherine had truly epitomized "Mr. and Mrs. Klaus", bringing as much year-round joy to all as they possibly could. They owned a small grocery on Amsterdam, and had provided food to those in need since the crash of '29.

Christmas for Albert was different this year. Dear Katherine had unexpectedly passed away in April. Albert had quickly drifted into depression, and took to the 'drink'. His robust laughter as the children sat on his lap masked an enormously deep sadness.

As he exited the side door of Macy's, he retrieved the flask from his pocket, and took a long draw from the narrow opening. The warmth of the whiskey would keep him warm on his long walk home to the lonely apartment above the store on Amsterdam.

He decided to take a different route home, walking north along busy 5th Ave. As he crossed 53rd he could hear the rich sound of the St. Thomas Church organ accompanied by hundreds of voices inside..."Away in a manger..." A small voice told him to "go inside". So, Albert, the once happy, now sad, white bearded fat man rolled through those church doors...perhaps the right doors at the right time.

This is my Christmas Day installment of the prompted, creative writing exercise, Saturday Centus. The prompt is the bold italicized part.

Peace and blessings, with hopes for better days ahead.

Namaste, jeff c...

Amanae

2010-12-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

As Elven lives go, Amanae's had been quite remarkable. Born to revered and powerful parents (her father of the Dwinghymn House, her mother of Tyrmitore ancestry), she had walked a path of remarkable beauty and wisdom. Simply, Amanae's presence and powers were unsurpassed. There was but one thing left for her to do in life...mate with a human. The child from such a union would possess great knowledge and power and would rise to prominence in her 'House'. This life goal could mean her demise, but after long and careful consideration, she knew it was her destiny.

Amanae walked down Mulberry Street to a brightly lit house on the corner of Elm. Inside the Stewarts were hosting the annual Mulberry St. Christmas costume block party. As Amanae entered through the foyer, all eyes turned, gazing on her radiant beauty. She at once knew that finding a Nieve would be easy. As she entered the living room, she heard the rather snippy Ellen Jones whisper to Ann Lewis, " what was she thinking? OMG! Elves are so 2009." Amanae thought to herself, "Eshui'du, yes 2009, the year before that and the centuries before that. This night was going to be fun."

Elven glossary:

Amanae...beautiful whisper

Dwinghymn...walkers in the forgotten ways

Tyrmitore...mistresses of the moon

Nieve...lover

Eshui'du...dumbass

From the Red-Shoe Diaries

2010-12-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

Time once again for Saturday Centus. I am a bit late in posting, and as usual a bit over my 100 word limit. I am doomed to fail this class! Nonetheless, I forge ahead, seeking forgiveness for my academic shortcomings. The prompt for this week is in bold italics. The remainder is from the caverns of my mind.

It had been a little over a year since I'd last visited Auntie Nell. My work in San Francisco was far too consuming, leaving me little time for the true pleasures of life. Nell and I shared many pleasures;our unique shared fondness for shoes was front and center. While she was affectionately known as the "Imelda Marcos of Manhattan", I was less affectionately known as the chick with too many shoes. Deep down I knew they were just jealous.

Nell's passing had come as a bit of a shock. I would now be left with only the sweet sadness of memories, and countless pairs of shoes we had picked out together...save one pair that never made it back to San Francisco...an exquisite pair of bright red snakeskin, pointed-toe, Jimmy Choo pumps. Where they had gone remained a mystery.

I entered the Greenwich Village Funeral Home and went directly to Nell's viewing room. I requested to see her sweet, loving face one last time. In keeping with her often outrageous approach to life...and death, she had requested to be interred in a custom built, Bergdorf Goodman shoebox-shaped casket. An involuntary gasp of shock escaped my lips when I opened the 'shoebox' and saw the pointy-toed shoes...those bright red Jimmy Choos that would forever be in my memories...but not on my feet.

What's In a Horoscope?

2010-11-27T06:50:00.000-08:00

Another Saturday has arrived and with it another glorious opportunity to explore my creative writing wherewithal. Yes, its Saturday Centus time...a time when we are given a writing prompt, and are put to task to write a 100 word or less response. This week's theme is Daily Horoscopes. We are to creatively respond to a randomly selected horoscope. This presents a particular dilemma for me, for I am an Aquarian, and not prone to do anything in purely random fashion. I am however quite prone to seeing connectivity in everything, and so with this prompt, I find myself connecting some dots. So, without further ado, I will take the leap and see where this week's assignment leads me.

Many years ago (perhaps during my college days at Wyoming) I cultivated a habit of reading my daily horoscope, found in the local Laramie Boomerang. Each morning, and for many months, I would eagerly anticipate opening a fresh morning paper, and head straight to the horoscope section. Why, you might ask? Well, this particular astrologer was writing about me in an uncanny, spot on fashion. How could this person know so much about me?

One day, and not a day that seemed different than any other, this deep, soulful connection with my own personal astrologer stopped. Was the newspaper purchasing astrology information from a different source? Perhaps...yet what I have found is that you can read a dozen different horoscopes on any given day and end up...well, end up terribly confused. The science of Astrology is less than perfect.

What is consistent in them is what binds us together as human beings...our common need, desire to give and get love, our desire for security (=money), and our inherent desire for creativity. We are truly of one body, one spirit, interchangeable one to another based on these yearnings for love, security and creative expression.

So, now that I have solved a big chunk of the world's problems (I'll leave it up to you to act on it), I will do something quite random, wholly in the spirit of this week's assignment. Mrs C has sack full of oriental fortune cookies intended for her Pre-K class. I am opening the sack, and without looking in, I am randomly picking out a fortune...my fortune. With some difficulty (as if these are X-rated fortunes, intended for adult eyes only), I am opening the cellophane, finding a broken cookie (ohhh, that can't be a good sign). I am plucking the narrow strip of white paper from the broken cookie..."Be yourself, and you will always be in fashion".

Note to Jenny...sorry I went over 100 words. You can choose to blame it on my rusty writing skills, since I have missed a few weeks. OR, you can blame it on the fact that I am an Aquarian, and tend towards non-conformity. Either way, and in keeping with my Aquarian roots, I can take the punishment. I am bending over now...

A Thanksgiving Story

2010-11-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

Time again for another prompted writing exercise for Saturday Centus. The prompt is in bold italics. The rest is my creative response in 100 words or less. Please visit the other crafty responses at Saturday Centus.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seemed forever since he'd seen his cousins in Tennessee. Mr. Tom T. Urkee needed a vacation, and what better place to spend Thanksgiving than with his wild mountain cousins. He left his home at Esbenshade Farms, hopped the "Pennsylvanian" in Lancaster headed for Philly, and then a quick transfer to the "Crescent" and points south.

The "Crescent" left the Pennsylvania Station about a quarter to four. Tom T. read a magazine, and then he was in Baltimore. He had dinner in the diner...nothing could be finer. Next stop, ham and eggs in Raleigh, North Carolina.

After breakfast, Tom paid the bill and walked directly to the ticket counter...

"Pardon me,said Tom T. Urkee, is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?"

"Yessir, Track 29".

A Squirrel Eye View

2010-11-05T09:10:00.001-07:00

We are never lacking for new and interesting places in which to find reflections. This delightful squirrel was snacking at my bird feeder. After loading the pictures on my computer, I looked into it's eye...lo and behold there was a reflection of the sky and my home. Does it get any crazier than this? I'll keep looking...

Peace and Blessings

...and thanks to James for providing this wonderful reflection photo meme, Weekend Reflections.

Liquid Reflections

2010-10-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

These photographs are posted in response to the weekly reflection photography blog, Weekend Reflections. WF is sponsored by James at Newtown Area Photo.

Banshees and Hellhounds

2010-10-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

Maggie left the well-lit street, turning onto the woodland path that led to her house. The moon was full, the trees rustling in the strong breeze. The shadows and sounds reminded her of the stories her mum and dad use to tell her...stories about Banshees and Hellhounds and other mythical creatures of the night. Just as Maggie wondered if these sounds could truly be mourning Banshees, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, two red glowing...and then another, and another, on both sides of the path. She began to walk faster, and faster. She feared turning around, lest some horrible creature grab her. Fast walking turned to running...

"Honey, are you ok...would you like me to stop reading?"

"This is the scariest story I have ever heard mum, but please don't stop."

This story was written as a response to the weekly, prompted, writing exercise,Saturday Centus. It is brought each week by Miss Jenny.

Jeff, Tennessee

2010-10-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

This photograph, taken in downtown Chattanooga TN, is posted in response the the weekly photo meme, Weekend Reflections. Thanks to James for hosting this.

A Fish Eye View

2010-10-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

Shot through my Fish Eye lens...looking across the Walnut Street bridge, the world's longest pedestrian bridge, located in Chattanooga TN.

This photo is posted in response to the weekly meme, Sunday Bridges, found at bayphoto.blogspot.com.

Magical Night, Part 3

2010-10-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Durin knocked on the door.

"Trick or treat!" they shouted as the door opened.

As she proffered the basket of sweet goodies, Mrs. Mulligan called out, "Byron, you must come see these wonderful Faery costumes." Scarcely had Mr. Mulligan risen from his chair than he heard Mrs. Mulligan exclaim, "Oh my!", as she watched our trio of flittering Faeries fly up and away into the moonlit night with the whole basket of goodies.

This three part story is presented in response to the weekly, prompted, creative writing meme, Saturday Centus. This wonderful exercise is brought to us by Jenny Matlock.

Magical Night, Part 2

2010-10-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

Rani, Durin and Fira flew about in the trees that lined Maple Street.

"Oh Rani and Durin, how I would love to eat some candy", said Fira.

"But Fira, we were told never to try and mingle with humans", exclaimed Durin.

"And except for our wings, we are naked", said Rani.

Fira, a quite magical seamstress, promptly cloaked our mischievous trio in garments of sewn, red maple leaves. They quickly left the trees and lit on the front stoop of a large, old white house.

Magical Night, Part 1

2010-10-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

It was a cool and crisp Halloween night. Children were scurrying about, filling their Halloween baskets with generous amounts of candy. As they ran from house to house in their colorful costumes, little did they know that their neighborhood was home to a clan of Faeries.

Fairies have been known to enjoy sweet treats, and on this particular night, three young Faeries decided to venture into the human world.

Sepia Pinnacle Against the Sky

2010-10-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

"Sepia pinnacles

against the sky...

A different view

through the finder...

and out the fish's eye.

Man's work here

never changing

Against nature's backdrop

forever changing..."

This photograph is posted in response to James's weekly photography meme, Weekend Reflections. I encourage you to visit and perhaps participate in this wonderful exercise and exploration in the world of reflection photography.

Peace...

Namaste...

When I See This, I See Me

2010-10-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

It is no coincidence that my first trip to Writer's Island brings me to this wonderful photograph. When I see this, I see me. So how is it that this can be?

I am a photographer. I have spent many hours studying the techniques, pouring over photo after photo of photographers who reached their photographic prime before the wholesale advent of color photography. What they leave us is a vast array of greyscale, monochromatic treasure.

Black and white, sepia...many, often confusing, names for what are simply photographs that lack what I refer to as 'natural color'. The early progenitors of the photographic arts simply lacked equipment to bring us subjects in their 'natural color'. Because of this lack of technology, what they could bring to bear, was attention to light, detail and emotion that is often missing in color photography.

My friends and family might suggest that I create way too much monochromatic material...that somehow this monochromatic obsession speaks to my frame of mind. Perhaps...except there are those brief moments when the colors are striking, and get my attention, and I will lift the curtain on my monochrome world...

Peace and blessings, and "welcome" to my blog...

Check out the musings at writersisland.wordpress.com

Room In My Mind

2010-10-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

It is a Saturday,

and time once again,

for Saturday Centus

with my 'Centurion' friends.

With a prompt we are lead

to write creatively,

with Miss Jenny, our teacher,

guiding us lovingly.

Using only 100 words, or less,

each one of us trying

to do our best.

I urge you to go

and check out SC,

where you will find prose,

and some poetry.

Without further ado,

I'll give what I've got,

hot off the presses,

terribly hot.

Room In My Mind

I pace the floor

of this room

in my mind...

A small space

i've created

that no one can find.

Create it indeed

with no windows or door...

Foolish planning I think

as I pace the floor.

What will I do

if I decide

this is not best?

Being in this room

in my mind

where I thought

i might rest.

I try to cry out

I scream, I shout.

Yet there is no one

to hear me,

no one about.

If I had a hammer

i'd bust my way out.

With no windows, no door,

no tools to free me...

i'm resigned to this plight,

this absurd destiny.

All of a sudden

a sound from above!

The bird has returned,

my mental 'white dove'...

has brought renewed hope,

and, quite possibly,

love...

Reflections On Love

2010-10-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

IMHO one of the finest things a photographer can accomplish is "freezing" the moment...a moment of love's expression. For it is in that moment wherein lies the deepest of human emotion, feeling...love...so elusive, so indescribable, so without words. We never really know what came before that moment nor what the future will bring. All we are able to do is capture but a brief, momentary vision of what is...the 'now' of love...the 'Tao' of love...

The couple in this picture captured my attention as lovers often do, by their togetherness and their singular expression of that togetherness...and in this case the lovely setting, their bright clothing, and as a secondary feature the reflection that the bridge above casts to the rippling water.

Peace and blessings

I've been tagged

2010-10-07T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged! Now this is an interesting concept. Kat at Emptynester has tagged me to participate in a meme started byThe Kid in the Front Row which is called "A 30 Sentence Kid In The Front Row Story, by 28 Authors." Want to see the rules? Clickhere.
Basically, the "Kid" starts and ends the story. The rest of us complete it one sentence at a time. So without further ado, here is my contribution at #11. I'm tagging CJ at "Small Stories and Stuff" to continue the story.

cj's Small Stories and Stuff...http://smallstoriesandstuff.blogspot.com/

1. Jane never expected to visit Belarus, but it was the only possible solution after what had happened.

2. Her lonely planet guide had advised her that it was a great place for birdwatching- so she packed her binoculars- Todd would have been proud, had he not been lying in a coma.

3. Poor Todd; Jane remembered the incident so well: he had spotted a rare long-whiskered owlet, had ran out into the street to snap a photo, and had thusly been hit by an ice cream truck.

4. Except the ice cream truck was actually a roasted salmon!

5. Upon seeing this strange occurrence, a Portuguese fisherman who happened to be standing on the other side of the street (and who was also, coincidentally, the resident expert on salmon) ran to scene and called 911, prompting Todd's speedy - albeit smelly - rescue.

6. Naturally, Jane was distraught over the entire salmon/ice-cream truck affair , moreover considering that she was the one who had wanted the photo of that owlet; they were both avid birdwatchers, but she was particularly fond of the owlet.

7. She had gone off owlets since then, and as she checked into the little hotel by the river, she wondered if she could find solace in the azure tit, a beautiful bird that, while easily spotted and hardly rare, at least had a name that sometimes made her giggle.

8. Surrounded by beautiful little azure tits as she wrote in her journal to un-bird-en herself of thoughts of fish, and fowl, and Todd (who was slowly recovering, and would join her soon); and as room service arrived with her vegetarian plate; her phone vibrated, signaling a text....

9. Alas, the careful study of azure tits would have to wait as an urgent text message from the manager of the treatment center where Todd was hospitalized informed her that something truly extraordinary was happening to him

10. Please return to hospital stat - patient awake, agitated, requesting nurse to masticate and regurgitate his dinner - wings noted sprouting from back, need your expertise in birds ASAP!
11.When I returned to the hospital and Todd's room, I was shocked to find that his nurse was a female member of The Blue Man Group.
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30. The three of them left as quickly as they could and vowed never to return again, especially if Jane was in town.

The Great Escape, Part 3

2010-10-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

After a few minutes baby Huey opened his one eye and hesitantly looked down. To his surprise he had grown...Legs! He quickly looked over at Grandpa, who had fallen fast asleep. Grandpa had legs too!

He hollered, "Grandpa, Grandpa," but he did not hear him.

Huey got up on his new legs, walked over to Grandpa, and kicked him in the rind.

" What, what are ya doin Huey!"

"Grandpa, it worked. We've got legs. Let's get goin!"

As we end our story (at least all of it we will ever know), we can see two orange pumpkins, one big and one small, their rinds glistening in the morning sun, making their way through the rows, then through the dew ladened grass, finally disappearing into the distant forest.

The Great Escape, Part 2

2010-10-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

"What will they do with us? Well, they may cut your innards out, and cook ya. Or they might carve you up into ugly faces."

"But Grandpa, I don't want leave, and I sure don't want to be eviscerated (a mighty big word for such a young punkin)."

"I thought that maybe if I wished hard enough that I might grow some legs and run away. So far nothin. But Baby Huey, maybe, just maybe, if you wish real, real hard, you can grow legs and get outta here."

So, baby Huey closed his one umbilical eye and proceeded to descend into his deepest pumpkin meditation, mentally repeating the mantra,

"Grow legs for me and Grandpa, Grow legs for me and Grandpa, Grow legs for me and Grandpa..."

The Great Escape, Part 1

2010-10-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday Centus time once again. Miss Jenny has provided a photo prompt for this week's 100 word, or less, creative writing exercise. The photo is in keeping with the Fall season. In keeping with my routine difficulty in restraining myself to 100 words...forget less...my effort this week will be in 3 parts. The first part written by me, with the subsequent parts written by my alter selves...those other Jeff's living in parallel universes. So, if any of you word counters have a problem with this, you will have to take it up with my alter selves. Problem is, I don't know how to get a hold of them. So, let us begin...with our Pumpkin Photo Prompted exercise.

Our story begins with a big, orange sun rising up above the eastern horizon, its early morning rays reflecting off the dew covered grassy fields. In the distance we see neat rows of large and small orange pumpkins. It is a "picture perfect", serene morning. Yet down amongst the rows of pumpkins all is not well, and we can hear great pumpkin chatter.

"Brutus, why did they move us here? Why did they take us away from our home?"

"Duh, I don't know Huey. Ask Grandpa. He will Know."

"Grandpa, why did they bring us here?"

"Well Baby Huey, they brought us here to make it easy for the school kids to pick us."

"Pick us! What will they do with us?"

Which Way Go the Bus?

2010-10-01T08:28:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I have gone way deep into this whole reflection photo business. Urban environments offer up a smorgasbord of reflective opportunity with such a variety of different surfaces and subjects. In this shot, it almost seems like this bus is crossing over into a parallel universe. Would not that be cool if you could hop a bus and take a trip across the veil into a different universe?

Peace and blessings...

This photograph is posted in response to a weekly meme, Weekend Reflections. Thanks to James for bringing us this opportunity.

A Different Kind of Birthday

2010-09-25T17:42:00.000-07:00

Frank was told by the receptionist to go to the room, 3rd door down on the right. As he walked down the long hallway he heard talking and laughter coming from the room. He entered through a golden door and found a large, bright and sunny room. A large number of people were seated at a long, cloth covered dining table, richly adorned with the most beautiful flowers. Among the guests, and much to his surprise, were his mom and dad, grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and a host of people he did not recognize. "Frank's here", they cheered. "Good to see you Frank. Sit here at the end", his dad said. At the end of the table, next to his dad, was a very large white cake with numbers of brightly colored, lit candles. As he sat down, the guests started singing, "Happy Birthday To You..." He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake that there would be birthdays in heaven.

This post is done in response to the weekly, prompted writing meme, Saturday Centus. The writing prompt is in bold italics. This week's prompt is in honor of Tom's birthday. Tom is a regular contributor to this meme. Happy Birthday Tom!!

Waterfowl in the Abstract

2010-09-24T07:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening my wonderful wife and I were taking photos along the shores of a nearby lake. There were many ducks and geese nearby. The sun had set, and I was working to accommodate for low light, changing settings and so forth. Needless to say with the lighting situation and a lens not conducive to low light, I ended with very few good photographs...in the conventional sense. This one unintended result actually was quite pleasing to me. Painting with a lens in a manner of speaking. I just like the whole thing going on with this picture...muted colors, reflections. I hope you enjoy this mallard couple as much as I do.

Peace and blessings

James sponsors a wonderful weekly photo meme that focuses on reflections. Please check out this blog, Weekend Reflections, for many wonderful reflective photographs.

Photo Contest

2010-09-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

This wonderful photograph was taken by my wife Kathy, the HappyMrsC. It is an entry in a local amateur photography contest. It is in neck and neck competition with another photograph for the "People's Choice Award". I am certain she would love to have your vote. You may vote on Facebook by going to 2 Northshore on Facebook...www.facebook.com/2northshore. You must first click on "like" at the top of their page. Then you go to a page showing all the entries and you click on her photo of the hang glider and then you "like" it...and your vote is cast...

Peace and blessings

Don't Cry Over...

2010-09-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

Maria was busily cleaning up from the party the night before. As she headed to the kitchen with wine glasses, one fell from the tray, spilling red wine on the carpet. She set the tray on the counter, retrieved a rag, and tried to soak the wine from the carpet. "This is never going to come out", she thought as she scrubbed at the spot on the worn carpet.

It had only been a month since Maria had crossed the border from Mexico, seeking a new life far from the ravages of poverty at home in Mazatenango...could this accident ruin her hopes?

"Mr. Thomas would be home any minute", she thought as she continued scrubbing. Would he fire me, send me back home? He seemed a kind and gentle man, not easily angered.

Maria heard the front door open, then close. It was Mr. Thomas. "Hello Maria, how was your day"? Before she could answer, she began crying. "Senor Thomas, I am so sorry I spilt the wine on your carpet".

Sensing her sincerity and distress, he held her and kissed her forehead. "Don't cry over this, dear Maria". At that moment their lives changed forever.

This little piece of writing is in response to Saturday Centus, a prompted, creative writing meme. The prompt is in bold type. Please take a moment and check out some wonderful writing at Saturday Centus. Thanks to Jenny Matlock and her wonderful 'mentoring'.

Urban Reflections in Sepia

2010-09-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

This building, located in downtown Chattanooga, has a remarkable multi-pane glass front. It is S-shaped, with both convex and concave surface. It provides quite unique and interesting reflections of the Marriot Hotel and Convention Center across the street.

Peace and blessings...and a weekend full of reflection.

This photograph is posted as a response to the weekly photo meme, Weekend Reflections.

Color Is All Around Us

2010-09-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Our world is awash in color, and although I could be accused of having too much interest in monochromatic and grey scale photography, I nonetheless am a huge fan of color. My favorite colors are those that would be associated with the American Southwest. Problem is, I live far away from the bounty of earth hues and tones of that beloved area. So I do what I can from my rainbow perch here in little ol Tennessee.

MrsC and I went on one of our regular photo outings the other evening, venturing down to our local waterfront area in downtown, beautiful Chattanooga, adjacent to the mighty Tennessee River. It is a wonderful location where locals and visitors alike congregate on nice evenings to play, take in the peaceful moments, to love...to take pictures. I hope you enjoy these pictures that I took the other day and earlier this year from this riverside haunt that we so love.

A bit of love...and some vibrant color...

A young woman who was there with two, twin boys and her husband.

Kathy remarked that I had taken so many pictures of her...really not that many...must have been the bright red bag ;-)

So many colors in one 'burst'...

Colorful sky as our sun sets...

and the moon rises...

This is our final post for Alphabe-Thursday, Rainbow Summer School. I would like to thank Jenny Matlock, and all the wonderful bloggers associated with this meme...so many new and wonderful friends...puts a bit of 'color' into my world. See ya soon, I hope.

Peace and blessings

Namaste

Superstitions, Good Luck Charms, and Hats

2010-09-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

I would think of myself as moderately superstitious...not overly so, yet not devoid of its casual 'charms'. Some 14 years ago I went on a fishing adventure with my son, my dad, brother-in-law, and his son. We traveled to Boca Grande Florida for a week's fishing for mostly Tarpon, a very large and most exciting prey. We had rented a condo adjacent to one of the inlets. One afternoon, early evening I decided to walk along the narrow, sandy beach that ran out to where inlet meets Gulf. I was casting a medium sized jig along the shore, catching a fair number of Snook, a remarkable fish. At one point I glanced down to the sand and noticed an object that did not appear natural. I reached down a picked up a mostly buried ball cap, the one you see in the picture above. Turned out to be a Guy Harvey signature cap with a Snook embroidered on the front. Here I was catching snook and then finding a practically new ball cap with a Snook on it. Since that discovery I have worn this cap above all others, considering it somewhat of a good luck charm.

There have been occasions when I have misplaced it or have left it in a restaurant, but have managed to recover it quickly. Recently this happened again, and try as I might, could not find it anywhere. I resigned myself to the grave possibility that it might be gone...forever. Strange how this possibility affected my mood, my emotion...that a mature 56 yr. old man could attach such emotion to a faded, weathered and worn old cap. MrsC stated the obvious, yet less than comforting fact, that I had other caps to wear.

Well, long story short...I found it! It was underneath a book in a chair in the foyer. Happy days! My somber mood quickly turned around. I was however humbled by what an insignificant item can do. Before I found it I did find some peace and resolve that I could move on, forge ahead through the darkness that had descended upon me.

Flickering, Fading Creativity

2010-09-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

This week's prompt concerns 9/11...or at least that is how I read it. I find no creative juices with which to respond to the prompt. All I can do is relate where I was. Second grade class at Lookout Mountain Elementary School. Our kids were in gym class. I was grading papers, when One of our 4th grade teachers came into the room, hurriedly in fact, exclaiming that I needed to come to her class and see something on TV. I did. I was literally frozen in front of her TV, watching the flames from the first tower, when within minutes on live TV a plane veers into the second. Surreal was what I remember. We spent the remainder of the day in shock, trying to teach and trying to keep the kids from knowing...better to let their parents tell them. Very dark...too many unanswered questions...my guess is we will never know what really happened that day, and the many days leading up to that fateful morning...nor the many days that followed. It changed the world...Peace and blessings

My Thoughts: Inviolate

2010-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

Over the last year plus, I have tried to refrain from using my blog to spout personal opinion, but I feel that if I do not, right this very moment, I might very well explode.

If you have been paying much attention, and believe me I have been paying as little as possible...then you may have come to the same conclusion as I. This country that I call home, and have for 56 years, is becoming a cesspool of intolerance, viciousness, mean-spirited hatred.

It has gone way past unbearable. This environment is unhealthy for our children, our grandchildren, their children, and so forth.

Our current flock of politicians are either scrambling for corporate money, votes, and using fear to conjure both. The way they act, and the expensive educations that started them on their merry way makes me wonder...wonder if they even have two brain cells with which to make a synaptic connection.

Life can be tough enough...why must some want to make it worse?What is so difficult about trying a bit of compassion, understanding, caring, brotherly/sisterly love, that might lead us to forgiveness. These attributes are fundamental to being human, and it is these very attributes that can and will bring us into relationship with each other. We need each other, regardless of our religion, doctrine, belief system. It is pretty much what all belief systems teach us...if we could only believe that it could work. In my opinion, where we have been going with the limited tools of intolerance and fear, have served us poorly.

I have for years thought that the U.S. has been in a huge position to positively influence the world. We are squandering that opportunity.

Below is a piece that I wrote this morning...Enjoy ;-)

I speak, but have not yet spoken...
I hear, but have not yet heard...
I see, but have not yet seen...
Ego falls away
Like leaves from a tree,
Leaving only branches,
To regenerate 'me'...
That I might speak only truth...
That I might hear only silence...
That I might see only beauty

Dark Night of the Soul

2010-09-04T05:12:00.000-07:00

It was a dark

and stormy night.

Fit for spiritual torment

My soul ravaged, lost, alone

Like St. John of that Crossroads

"...In secret, when none saw me,

Nor I beheld aught,

Without light or guide,

Save that which burned in my heart"

Transformation desperate, needed

Needing hope...lost

Sense of self...disintegrates

Faith...in flight

Into this dark night...

This writing is posted as a response to Jenny Matlock's prompted, weekly creative writing meme, Saturday Centus.

Urban Reflections in Black and White

2010-09-03T12:12:00.001-07:00

This photograph is posted in response to both Weekend Reflections and The Weekend in Black and White (blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com).

I've Got the Indigo Blues

2010-09-01T16:10:00.001-07:00

Part 1: Indigo...not an easy color to peg...much discussion and dissension as to where the wonderfully named color falls on the color spectrum. Enough, enough, it's giving me the Indigo Blues.

So, I will offer up this lovely flower, a favorite of mine that we have in our yard. It is the non-native Centauria montana (don't tell Christine), also known as the perennial cornflower, mountain bluet, and other various and sundry local names. I find it striking and so unusual, and I suspect that somewhere in its range of color, there lies some Indigo.

From now on, when I get the Indigo Blues, I am going to imagine how grand it would be to watch Miss Indigo Blue (bottom picture) instruct a bevy of burlesque wannabees at Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque. Being in Tennessee, I am a pretty fair stretch from her Seattle based school...darn I'm gettin the Indigo Blues again ;-)

Part 2: After my original post I got to thinkin more and more about this elusive color and perhaps an easier way to "nail it down". So, without further correction, I am going with the Indigo Snake as my standard for this mysterious color. It is given to a "purplish black color when seen in bright light". Go check out Google images for the Indigo Snake and you will see a few that show this coloration. The Indigo is found throughout most of our southern states reaching into Texas and Mexico. It is known to be the longest snake in North America, reaching lengths just shy of 10 feet. So, if you happen to come across a really long, dark snake, with a narrow head, don't kill it. It is most likely an Indigo. Just observe its beauty and its Indigoness.

Peace and blessings, and check out all the wonderful post for Alphabe-Thursday's, Rainbow Colors Summer School.

Sculptural Beauty

2010-09-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

This life size bronze is found on the grounds of the Hunter Museum of Art. The museum is located in the Bluff View District near downtown Chattanooga, TN.

This photo is posted in response to the weekly sepia photography meme, Sepia Scenes. You can find many wonderful sepia photographs by going to sepiascenes.blogspot.com.

jeff, tennessee

2010-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

This insect is of the Genus Condylostylus. A large Genus, it is not an easy feat to ID to the species level. They are quite common, and variable in color. I have photographed those exhibiting red, bronze, gold, and green coloration...all in my yard.

Peace and blessings

This has been posted as a response to Macro Monday...please visit

Lurking in the...

2010-08-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

The photo above is my entry to Shadow Shot Sunday. The shadow created in the space 'behind the curve' of this spiral staircase to the top of the tower pictured below. It is called the Wilder Tower. It is a very tall monument/tower located within the Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park. This was the first Civil War Battlefield preserved by the federal govt. Local legend has it that the tower is haunted. No telling what is lurking in the shadows of the tower steps...

Please visit Shadow Shot Sunday for some remarkable shadow photography...

The Journey

2010-08-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

The sound of distant thunder knocked on the door of my subconscious... the globulous drops of monsoonal rain beat on my face. I slowly opened my eyes, seeing the cottonwood branches overhead, and the golden yellow surrounding my periphery...for a brief few moments wondering...you know...that sense one has as you pass the veil that separates dream from awakening.

I stood up, turned around, and headed for the car, parked so nonchalantly in the middle of this abandoned stretch of Rt. 66. Before I could reach the car the rain had ceased. I looked down this lonely stretch of 2-lane, with its deep, dark cracks and weeds thrusting upwards like fists from the underworld. I turned, gazing out to the western sky, pleased to see a rather large and vivid double rainbow...

"Somewhere, over the rainbow..." a sweet and hopeful song that held in its melody and lyrics the portent of possibilities...

I wiped the rain from my face and opened the car door, grabbing a cigarette from the dash. I put the cigarette between my wet lips, struck a match...its strangely sweet, sulfurous odor more pleasing than the cigarette. I quickly put it out and got in the car. I started the engine, pleased to hear the familiar, powerful sound of the V-8 beneath the hood of this perfectly restored '59 Plymouth Savoy...identical in every way, including the two-tone cream and coral finish, to the road chariot I had driven on these same highways some 3 decades ago. I pushed the "D" button and headed back to the main highway. Next stop, Gallup...and dinner.

This is another installment for the weekly, creative writing meme, Saturday Centus. Our assignment this week is to continue, in 100 words or less, a story from a past installment of Saturday Centus. I decided to continue with my story, "The Journey". The new installment is in italics.

For other great creative stories, please go to Saturday Centus...sponsored by Jenny Matlock...

Urban Monochrome

2010-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted in response to the weekly photo meme, The Weekend In Black and White. There are truly some great B&W photos posted to this meme. Check it out by going to

blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com

Peace

Sunset From a Bridge

2010-08-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted in response to the weekly meme, Weekend Reflections. Please visit this blog and check out the wonderful reflection photographs from around the world.

Peace

Intersection Red

2010-08-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted in response to Weekday Photo's, Urban Thursday. This week's challenge is "Intersections". I was fortunate that on this particular evening that there was a call for big red fire engines, and was able to capture one juxtaposed to this pedestrian with the red bag...intersection of 'big red' and little red at an intersection.

Please visit Weekday Photos and check out the wonderful work of such varied and talented photographers.

Peace

Blue-Eyed Mary

2010-08-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another edition of Alphabe-Thursday, Rainbow Colors Summer School. This week Rainbow Color Challenge is the color Blue. I knew right away what I would post...the annual wildflower, the Blue-Eyed Mary. The Blue-Eyed Mary, Collinsia verna, is a member of the Figwort family. It is one of few truly blue wildflowers that you will ever see. It has a very short blooming period during Tennessee springtime, and I consider myself fortunate to have captured this photo last spring. It is currently listed as endangered in Tennessee. Please visit Alphabe-Thursday for other wonderful posts that will put you in a "Blue" mood.

When winter's chill has scarce left earth
And April winds blow "Hey down derry !"
Comes gaily dancing down my hill
Sweet, laughing, Blue-eyed-mary.

She wears a dress of bronzy green
Draped round her light and airy;
She lifts the loveliest face I've seen
Brave, tender, Blue-eyed-mary.

Her eyes shine like the azure sky,
Her step light as a fairy;
Her face, no crystal drift so white,
Dear, steadfast, Blue-eyed-wary.

My hat is off to Bouncing Bet,
Gill-over-the-ground runs quite contrary,
Black-eyed-Susan is my pet,
But I'm in love with Blue-eyed-mary.

- Gene Stratton Porter

The Sunflower and the Ant

2010-08-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted as a response to the weekly sepia photography meme, Sepia Scenes. You may check out all the wonderful sepia photographs by going to

sepiascenes.blogspot.com

Peace

Violet

2010-08-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

This Crocus photograph is posted as a response to the daily meme, Weekday Photos. Monday's theme is Creative Colors. This week's challenge is "Violet". Please visit Weekdayphotos.com to see many extraordinary photographs, and perhaps you will participate.

Peace

On a Mountain Road

2010-08-23T03:35:00.000-07:00

Mrs C and I often get in the car and take an evening drive south on the mountain on which we live...Lookout Mountain. We, of course, take pictures along the way. I suggested that we take some dinner food and head back to one of my favorite places to hang...the Crockford/Pigeon Wildlife Mgt. Area...part of which is a few hundred acres of open tall-grass pasture, dotted with a few small lakes. It is a fine place for bird watching, insects, taking in expansive views, and occasionally nice sunsets. As we began to ride south this past Friday evening, the clouds' coverage was increasing and we thought that the sunset view would be lost. The picture with the paint horse proves that was not the case. The photographs were taken at Crockford/Pigeon, Lookout Mtn. Hang Gliding Flight Park and other stops along the way. I hope you enjoy them.

Peace and blessings...

Have a great week...

My Summer...So Far

2010-08-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

I, I, I, I, I...it's all about me this time around. It is Saturday Centus time again, and this week's assignment is to tell a bit about what I did this summer...in the first person. Well, summer is not quite finished yet...the temperatures are telling me that. I will give you a brief synopsis of what has transpired thusfar.

I started my summer by seeing Kathy to the finish line of recovery from her knee surgery. I took a lot of pictures this summer. I blogged...and blogged some more. I pondered the universe and dreamt of cooler weather. I read a lot of books, listened to some new and old music, and watched a wonderful foreign film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I went with MrsC twice to the Mennonite Farm for wonderful veggies. I maintained my prayer group responsibilities. I lost a neighbor to cancer. I reached out to my daughter. I, along with MrsC, joined the Photographic Society of Chattanooga, and attended my first meeting. I hung out a lot with MrsC, which I will miss doing. Last night I witnessed the night blooming Cereus...aka "Moon Flower" (See photos).

But summer is not yet over and I am certain I will do a few more things over the next month. I will update you on further summertime developments. In the meantime...I am here, living and loving, and anticipating reading and seeing what YOU did this summer.

Peace and blessings

Twists and Turns

2010-08-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted in response to a weekly black and white photography meme, The Weekend In Black and White. There are many wonderful black and white images to be found by going to

blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com

Namaste

Fire In the Sky

2010-08-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

I shot this image last Sunday. I was blessed with a remarkable assemblage of clouds and sunset.

This photograph is posted in response to the weekly reflection photo meme, Weekend Reflections. There are many wonderful reflections to be found. Check it out!

Rain On the Pane

2010-08-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

This photograph is posted as part of a weekly, photography meme, Weekday Photos. Each day has a different theme. Friday's theme is Nature, and this week's challenge is Rain. Please take the time to visit the other wonderful photographs at weekdayphotos.com.

Scraping the Sky

2010-08-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

It's time for Weekday Photo Urban Thursday. This week's challenge is Skyscrapers. It would be a particularly tough assignment if you lived in a small town. I guess if the McDonald's Arch was the tallest thing going, then you would have to paint the sky yellow. I live in Chattanooga TN...not a large city as compared to NYC or Chicago or Atlanta...but a city rich with variety of new and old urban architecture. This photo captures this tallish structure scraping the sky two ways. BTW, know you can click on the photo to really crank up the fire...

Peace and blessings...

Green? But It's Not St. Paddy's Day!

2010-08-18T15:55:00.001-07:00

It's been a long week, but now we have arrived at our next destination along the Rainbow Highway with Jenny Matlock. This week's stop is in "Green" ville. What better way for me to celebrate this much needed rest stop than to include my little, and I mean little, friends, the Long-legged Flies. Their legs do seem rather long as compared to the length of their bodies. They seem to come in a variety of colors. These here are truly green...no fancy digitized color enhancing with these guys. They are the perfect photography subjects. They are lively, and flit about, yet stay on the same leaf for a while. You can get mighty close and they remain fearless. Had I not gotten behind my macro lens I might never have noticed these miniscule, neon, little creatures. I have not yet been able to ascertain the science concerning the color variety. Different species? Age difference? Perhaps it's in the diet? Maybe they are the "Heinz 57" of the insect kingdom. I hope you enjoy them. I threw in some furred and feathered friends against green backdrops for those whose taste is not with insects. BTW, in case you did not know, you can click on the photos and really get "eye to eye" with these precious little flies.

If you have stopped here unaware of Alphabe-Thursday and Miss Jenny's Rainbow Color Summer School, please take the time to go check out the rest of the green.

Forgotten, But Not Gone

2010-08-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

This sepia photograph is posted for the weekly meme, Sepia Scenes. To check out other sepia photographs go to sepiascenes.blogspot.com

Namaste

Fabric of a Different Sort

2010-08-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Not your normal fabric, woven polypropylene is often used for bagging material for bird seed, dog food, grains, etc. My wife decided to try and recycle these 'plastic' bags as something useful for her Pre-K classroom. She has fashioned the bag material into roll-up crayon holders for her kids. She manages to make two holders from each bag. A quite jazzy idea I think! And it keeps them from slowly rotting in the landfill.

This photo is posted for Weekday Photos, Macro Tuesday. This week's theme is "Fabric". Please check out the other wonderful posts, and maybe try one yourself, by going to weekdayphotos.com

Crow Black

2010-08-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite subjects...Crows and Ravens. Due to their 'blackness', they are especially difficult to photograph with detail of feathers and so forth...but are great subjects in silhouette...

Peace

This photo is posted for Weekday Photo...Creative Colors Monday #12...Theme "Black"