Grazing
As I watched
the black and white calf
worked, cajoled, and finally
wormed her head and neck
through the
narrow
confines
of the hole
in the fence so that she could eat the green grass,
that was,
of course,
much better than what was available
on her side of the fence. 
Moments later,
naturally, she changed her mind,
pulled her head and neck, eventually, back through the fence's hole
and ambled off down the hill toward still better grasses.

Resolution and Updates
The month has gotten away from me and I didn't even manage an entry a day on this blog. Life intervened and inspiration didn't. Still, this is a new month and I resolve to do better. Currently, I am working on two projects: reading Stanley Fish's short, but challenging and revolutionary, How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One (Harper, 2011); it is a book which will change my poetry, and probably my teaching. Also, I have been working on compiling my first book of poetry, almost completely from the archives of the blog. My hope is that that book, to be called Country Traffic Jam, will be published by JW Books later this summer.

Tradition
When the "lights" flicker on and off
    laughter is heard from children
       running around trying to capture
lightening bugs in a jar,
just as the adults watching them had once done.

Dinner Crowd
Dead raccoon on the road
Flies and maggots and other small beings
   are enjoying a feast
while a buzzard stands nearby
waiting for a car to pass
so that it can safely join in.

Changing View
Sitting at my workbench I watched
   the activities of birds and animals
       just outside the window.
But as it became dark out
   I found myself
     looking at my own reflection.

Circles of Life
The ground hog could barely be seen
    in the high grass.
He peeked around cautiously
    looking this way and that before exploring more.
Unseen by the groundhog
    was a hawk flying in circles and patterns
       undetected from the ground.
And still further above the fray
    waiting to see what the hawk might do
was a buzzard who was hoping that the remains
of the groundhog might be its next meal.

Election Day
It was a beautiful morning
  and turned into an even better afternoon.
But for one there was an unseen cloud lurking:
Elections have consequences.
There's a new sheriff in town!
  

Crippled Dog
For several days
Halli hobbled around on just three good feet
then she seemed to make a full recovery
and was again running about the countryside
at full speed.
Today,
she is again hobbling.
What did that dog do?
Sometimes, I wish she could talk.

Saturday Night
Between home and Corinth ...
  Possum
     Rooster
        Raccoon
            Buzzard
 Really?
    Yup... electrocuted
   and, near the Corinth railroad bridge--
amid the blare of blue lights and red
   and the stares of deputies, witnesses and the idle curious:
      a sheet shrouded stretcher
being managed by somber EMTs
who accidentally kick a beer bottle
that rolls across the road
and comes to rest
in the weeds.

Queen
I found Halli today
  lying on the guest bed--
pillows surrounding her
  like devoted minions
    or, perhaps, ladies in waiting.

Passing By
Standing on the factory floor
I feel the rumble and hear the whistled roar
        of a train passing by.
Moments later an airplane is heard passing by overhead.
Reminders both that
life is passing  by
      faster than ever.

New Pet "Owner'
Jeanine is gone
   to Colorado
so its me and Halli and Pinka (the cat)
striving to make it through for 10 days.
Yesterday Halli wouldn' eat
and the cat couldn't be found.
Not sure I'm cut out for pet ownership
on the spur of the moment.
This morning the cat came meowing
round the bed.
And Halli ate her fill.
Maybe I'll make it yet.

Fly Like An Eagle
Driving home after work at Bullard
   I want to push down on the accelerator and
          fly like an eagle:
Along the ridges out rt. 36
  there is mist hanging in the low spots
   and more as I drive up to the high ones.
But I drive slowly
   because my tire pressure is low
     and I can't get new tires
         until tomorrow.

Ostrich
Mist is settled on the trees
   rain is coming down
and I looked out the window to
   notice a pair of my jeans
        hanging on the line.
And then I saw the bird--
   small with white breast and brown body and wings--
sittting nearby
   looking down at them.
Looking up she seemed to look straight at me,
   "Aren't these yours? Well, get them out of the
rain, you ostrich."

Left Behind
Early this morning
    as the car,
        driven by Laurine--
mother and grandmother to--
 Jeanine and Siobhan (respectively)
      along with Bill (the cat),
and all their stuff left the drive
       on the way to Colorado--
for the ultimate "girls night out" to last
   10 days (9 nights)--
      all I could think
        was,
"What now?"

Summer Dawn
Lying in bed I see the gradual emer-
    gence of my bedroom furniture
and hear the competing symphonies
   of frogs and songbirds
   over the sound of our softly whirring fan.
Morning is slowly breaking.
 

Under New Management
Above the hummingbird feeders,
atop the  shepherd's crook
The goldfinch
   majestically regal in his
       bright yellow and black plumage
seemed puzzled.
He chattered.
"Where are my sunflower seeds?
What are these strange clear things with the little 'flowers'?"
He looked up.Then down.
He seemed to look directly at Jeanine and me
standing not five feet away,
 on the other side of the window glass.
One last time he chattered,
"Who moved my feeder?"
When we gave no answer,
Finally,
He flew away.

Beginning and End

Wildlife Encounters
Driving away from the house
   with Halli locked in
I noticed that the wild life
   had come out a bit:
a mourning dove placidly sat outside
  the living room winndow
     seemingly aware that Halli
        (despite her barking)
    was not a threat.
As we got in our car
   a tom turkey was graveling in the drive.
Moments later, we noticed
A box turtle
  plodding along up the drive
and as we approached,
it simply moved into the grass and kept going.
Meanwhile, I miss these close
encounters with wildlife that Halligan
so routinely prevents or disrupts. 

Spring Storm
For twenty minutes
   With the wind roaring
      and rain pouring down,
           pounding our poor house
                I felt isolated and
                    alone.
Then the rain stopped
     frogs and song birds could be heard
       the hummingbirds returned to their feeders
          and Halligan went outside
             to find mischief, no doubt.
Only then did things get back to normal.

We have not been posting lately-- illness and finals being at the heart of it all. However, we will begin again shortly. Meanwhile, take a look through the other postings of poems and pictures.

Pilot Truck Stops
Hummingbirds-- first seen
    dive-bombing Halligan-- are back.
 But  feeders, with nectar in them, are out.
Soon the hovercraft of the bird world will be focused
     on the red and yellow feeders....
Pilot truck stops
     for the hovering class.

Farm Life
Trees leafing out.
Grass growing faster than weeds.
Cars parked in the grass.
Bicycles leaning against the storage shed--
   Who has time?
Wheel barrows with stones and sand,
     or manure, 
           in their bottoms
A patio partially completed awaiting
    Elliott's strong arms and back.
Halligan chasing bees around the lawn--
   even if that takes her through
        where Jeanine and I are working:
she weeding the garden
me shoveling rock and sand
    and fixing the driveway.

Recipe for a Smoother Drive
Begin with a drive full of mud holes
        bumps and lumps
Add one each:
      road worker
      wheel barrow,
      shovel 
      rock pile
and
      rake.
Road worker should repeatedly
      follow processes below:
              Take empty shovel
              stab it into the pile of rock
              lift full shovel
             dump contents into wheel barrow.
             Repeat untl wheel barrow is full.
Take full wheel barrow to a mudpuddle
and dump in rock.
Rake until rock is smoothed out
(and puddle is filled up).
            Repeat entire process
            until drive way is smooth
            or until
road worker can no longer work.    

Possum
On a very dark night,
the possum looked up
as the car lights approached.
Slowly it put its head down
and with its red lazer-like eyes
giving a pink cast to its white fur
the possum continued on,
soon quickly disappearing
in the tall roadside grasses.

Rurality

Sparks
When lightning
       hit the light pole
sparks the world lit briefly
  before homes and lives
went dark
for hours.