Lava Leaves

Each year, Autumn leaves rain down from trees. . .

. . .lava-like upon the pavement. . .

. . .completing the life-cycle begun last Spring. . .

 

Nature's fiery "coins", laying there just for the taking! 

Get 'em while they're hot!

PoetryPeek: Reminders

by J. Lanier

That great big puddle at the corner
obstacle to my crossing

Reminds me that
this stranded spring shower remnant 

also seeks its purpose:

to return to earth and nurture life

That sludgy liquid
pooled around the sewer grate

Reminds me that 
this stagnant trickle was once 
part of a million clear raindrops

falling urgently from the sky 

during a summer storm

Those piles of leaves

rustling along urban concrete

eddied by autumn winds

Remind me that
they too seek to complete their cycle 

beginning / ending in the sky and 

ending / beginning in earth's crumbly dark womb

That slushy, icy snow
slippery winter nuisance to older bones

Reminds me that 
      we all have a place and purpose

If we can only find

 how we fit

            together

PoetryPeek: Haiku

by Stephen W. Leslie
(originally published in the International "Kusamakura" haiku competition, 2011)

~~~~~~~~

Her far away look

Tire swing on a nearby tree

The missing children

Thanks Stephen!

Casper - The Friendly Ghost Plant!

Last fall, we received this plant as gift. It’s a “ghost plant” (Graptopetalum paraguayense). 

We named it Little Casper.

Four months later, Little Casper is alive and well!

An added delight we discovered
 is that Little Casper self propagates. . .  

. . .when it drops it's leaves, new plants will grow from them.

I guess it reincarnates itself!

Life Expectancy

Back to Life*

I am very fortunate to have an abundance of trees in my neighborhood.  There's a particular set of trees that I pass on my way to the train each day.  I call them "Elegant Line".

 

Of this set of trees I had a particular favorite because, in addition to being able to see it as I walked down the street . . .

. . .I could also see it once I got to the train platform. . .

. . .almost like a parent seeing their child off for the day. . .

Then Hurricane Irene paid a visit.

As if with a knife, she sliced my little tree in half!  But yet. . .afterwards? There it still stood and I marveled at it’s tenacity in Irene's wake!

Unfortunately, a year later, Hurricane Sandy roared through and finished off what Irene started, blowing down what was left of my little tree, leaving only a stump.

However, this year's unusually wet summer has been a gift.  Now, where there was only a stump, new life has emerged. . .and flourished!

Without endings, there can be no beginnings.  Without sadness, no happiness.

*In Memoriam
R.A. Johnson 1921-2011 ~~ C. Wills, 1933-2013 ~~ D. Lanier, 1936-2012 ~~ R. Carpenter, 1946-2013 

~~~ Never forgotten, and very much missed ~~~

Point of Departure

Co-existence*

  *In memoriam - Donald Richard Lanier, July 1936 - March 2012.