Edge of Cold #haiku #photography #poem #storms

 

At Carpe Diem we were just introduced to Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1895) A female poet who knew well the pains and suffering of the sojourner.

Upon
frost-withered arrowroot
pelting
vying hailstones—
the cold within the sound.

~ Otagaki Rengetsu

frozen leaf

holding its breath

nature waits on the edge of today

cold taskmaster

©L. Moon

cold squirrel
An excellent and appropriate prompt for the day “Cold within the sound” for Chevrefeuille’s Carpe Diem

 

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Harvest Celebration #november #poetry #harvest

 

 all the machinery is oiled

 tucked away for another year

hands are chapped and stained

jeans are beyond repair

long lines of  jars

are waiting for papa

to put away

*

the air is filled with spice

and the kids are keen

tonight we bundle up

jars of corn,potatoes, and beans

 given as an offering

thrown into a  pot

 we hunker down with a cup

*

tear off some bread

cross-legged on the ground

some laugh others holler

the tractor pulls around

“come on kids time for a spin”

young and old

jump on the hay hauler

*

moonlight graces the fields

smiles on the hard work

and for another year

is pleased with our effort

the bonfire no longer shy

limbs and cornstalk fuel

meeting the night starry clear

*

sparks seem to fly

dessert cooks on the end of a stick

marshmallows with chocolate the best

children’s gooey  hands they lick

we look into year-end embers

packing up our memories

&  bid “goodbye” to another harvest

bonfire

 This weeks Poets United Midweek Motif celebrated the Bonfire. So whether its inspired by Guy Fawkes or a successful harvest gather round the fire.

Last year’s Harvest offering.

The Winery #poetry #haiku #harvest

V

long days of harvest

purple fruit  teases the sun

hands are stained

*

purple stained

children finger paint the scene

shoes off, wine poured

**

shoes on, wine poured

oak casks now silent

not too tired to dance

I was reminded of the harvest at a friend’s winery a few years ago. Chevrefeuille’s Carpe Diem prompt Vineyards

Reap what we sow #dark #poetry #PEN

the green place that I’d known
had been watered red and died
nothing was left to atone
the sun on that day must have cried

Come on over to Pen of the Damned where there is an unusual reaping. Reaping the Harvest  my newest dark poem seems oddly appropriate for the day our government in the United States has shut down.

Photography: Pen of the damned icon by Bernini

Harvest in sepia © L. Moon

The Moon’s Glow #poetry #life’slesson #amwriting

Moon by ShironekoEuro

Ah the harvest moon

filled with amber glow

release your source

unveil your love

pour dust upon my soul

*

gazing down she softly smiles

her radiant all the more

adore me not

you star fazed one

gaze upon life’s shore

*

I smile into childlike eyes

I but a mirror grand

I gather light into my self

joyous to sit

upon sun’s night stand

*

look up into radiant  light

take in his daily glow

bask in his warmth

no matter what the day

his love for you will show

The harvest moon shot is by Shironekoeuro ck the site for more amazing photography http://www.flickr.com/photos/shironekoeuro/

Celebrate the Harvest Moon (Meigetsu) #haiku #poetry

Bonfire

golden face glow

life stirs beneath your smile

ready for harvest

*

celebrate harvest

kids laughter in hay wagon

stew on the fire

*

We lived in an agricultural area for years.

How fun to celebrate the end of harvest by a bonfire of cornstalks and walnut limbs while the kids went on a moonlight ride.

Celebrate the Harvest Moon (Meigetsu) courtesy of Carpe Diem

Thanks to Briarcroft for the photo of the bonfire 

Simple Community

you sit so stately

surrounded by a sea of green

heather wafts in the breeze

***

the clouds create an almost somber tone

until the voices of children ring down the lane

and the clop clop of draft horses resonates in the air

***

you may be small

but you are so much more than size

love , kindness, and family flourish here

***

a people endure

and rejoice in each season of life

join us in the revelry

come celebrate

***

for today we will unite and be

bound together as a community

the people of the harvest

Llangollen Canal - North Wales

Land of nuts, fruits, and cows – a blog

I live in the land of Ag or Agriculture. I wasn’t born here- I was born in a big city. Don’t get me wrong- I had plenty of experience feeding the chickens and mucking out stalls as a kid.

I drove by the almond orchards this morning. The pink and white blossoms are intoxicating in beauty and scent. Then I looked down on the ground and saw the boxes stacked every 100 yards or so. Those boxes contain an essential to the Ag industry – the pollinators. In other words- Bees!  I have a few stories I could tell you about bees. I was out in the country with my daughter and some friends. We were taking in the beauty of spring picking wild flowers for pressing. We were unaware that the bees had been freed that morning. Needless to say I was alarmed when I heard a loud buzzing chorus. ” Ok girls let’s walk quickly to the car. It’s time to go!”  Trying not to alarm the girls we scurried to the car. We managed to escape without one sting.

Soon it will be time for the cattle to be moved so they can graze in an area with plenty of grass. Unlike the “old days” where cattle were driven through the country along a river bed, cattle here are driven down the road. Well it’s a country road but a road my cycling friends and I frequent for a ride of rolling hills, steep climbs, and sparse traffic. Suffice it to say, one morning my riding partner and I crested a hill  to meet up with a traffic jam of the four-legged type.  I am not afraid of animals but I was not certain what hundreds of cattle would do when facing down a person sitting atop a metal contraption. One of the cowboys swiftly rode up on his faithful steed and rescued  us by and hauling us up into the back of a pickup. Who needs a night in shining armor – I’ll take a cowboy any day.

Oh ag when the evening smells that waft into your backyard aren’t those of honeysuckle but of the dairy being washed down, when the dropping temperatures have the community on their  knees knowing that the pending freeze could wipe out the year’s worth of citrus, Oh and holidays and vacations are plopped in between lambing season, planting harvesting and…

I love the Ag world – it’s full of color and delight. Bzzzz

Photography: Almond Orchard – L. Moon

Cattle Drive by Mat Honan (License Creative Commons)

Bee by Aussiegall (License Creative Commons)