APRIL

“A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.” -  e. e. cummings

Poets and Storytellers this week has as its theme “October”. That is all very well in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is Autumn, but here in the Southern Hemisphere October is a Spring month and our equivalent autumnal month is April. Hence, with poetic licence, here is my autumnal April poem.

April

Ahhh, April,
Welcome, friend…

Come, April, my old friend, again
Let’s talk, let us exchange pleasantries.
You bring me gifts - more white hairs,
More experience, my wrinkling face the evidence,
And yet I am none the wiser...

Come friend, let’s drink, and in our cups
Let’s reminisce of days gone by,
Of nights long past, when autumn moons
Shone bright and clear, and we,
We used to walk beneath the frosty starlight...

You watch me, smile and speak not;
April, you always were a good listener,
Hearing out my softly whispered confessions,
The patter of your rain, your grey skies our cover,
Our camouflage, your smile my absolution.

Year after year, my friend you come
Bringing chrysanthemums, rain-clouds
Crisp, frosty nights, woollen days, capricious sunlight.
As Autumn ripens, you herald Winter’s arrival,
And I with each of your visits understand your silences more…

Come friend, let’s drink, and in our cups
Let’s reminisce of days gone by,
Of nights long past, when autumn moons
Shone bright and clear, and we,
We used to walk beneath the frosty starlight…

Ahhh, April,
Welcome, friend,
Ahhh, April!

The poem is set to music again, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

THE AUTUMN FULL MOON

“No man can taste the fruits of Autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of Spring.” - Samuel Johnson

Poets and storytellers this week is titled “Hello, Fall”. Within that theme, I should mention that in Australia, our Autumn is during the  months of March, April, May, quite the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority of our population here is of a Northern Hemisphere heritage and all the seasonal holidays we observe are topsy-turvy! More so, if one is a recent arrival here, when these back-the-front seasons are quite startling. My poem takes that into account…

The Autumn Full Moon

Gazing at the clear sky on this Spring night
And looking at the full moon of September,
A distant northern Autumn I remember
When you were near, and your eyes were bright.

The stars are sparkling and the garden fragrant
The night is cool and air crisp as a crystal bell.
Spring flowers bright, in moonlight flagrant
But memory’s fallen leaves sad tales will tell.

Tell me pale Moon, does she too gaze on you tonight?
Could she perhaps be thinking of me, in your silver light?

We shared a moon cake under full moon’s light
And laughed as Autumn winds blew candles out;
Now I can find no trace of you about –
I loved, you left, the moon’s the mistress of the night.

The Autumn full moon in Spring is mocking
My thoughts, remembrances, feelings frozen;
My life so empty, and your absence shocking
This lonely path we tread as we have chosen.

Tell me pale Moon, does she too gaze on you tonight?
Could she perhaps be thinking of me, in your silver light?

The poem is set to music, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube,  Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

DEATH IN AUTUMN

“My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane.” - Robert Frost

The prompt from “Poets and Storytellers United” this week is t write a poem in a formal, traditional form. I have chosen the villanelle. (A villanelle is a 19-line poetic form with a specific structure of five tercets (three-line stanzas) and a concluding quatrain (four-line stanza). It features a strict rhyme scheme (ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABAA) and two repeating lines, called refrains, that alternate as the last lines of the tercets and appear together as the last two lines of the quatrain.) It can be quite tricky to write...

Autumn Evening

As evening falls so softly, cold
Memory’s scent I follow,
And life grows dark and old.

Leaves die, as they turn to gold
The sound of voices hollow.
As evening falls so softly, cold

I try to break its stranglehold;
My spirits fall and ebb, so low – 
And life grows dark and old.

I try to be so resolute and bold
To make my song again to flow
As evening falls so softly, cold…

The wood attacked, consumed by mould
Decay eats into it so slow,
And life grows dark and old.

My dreams to highest bidder sold
Love’s ghosts in sadness wallow:
As evening falls so softly, cold
And life grows dark and old.

Here’s the poem set to music, and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

THE CRUELLEST MONTH

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”― T.S. Eliot

Poets and Storytellers United has prompted us this week to give a poem related to the first line of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land: “April is the cruellest month”.  Here is my offering. Remember I am in Australia and April here is the middle month of our Autumn.

Winter Harvest

Standing on the brink of April
Waiting for the signal
That will send me down its yawning depths;

Poised on the fork of Autumn,
Waiting for the pallid dawn of Winter solstice
That will send my heart a-roaming yet again;

Balanced on the cutting edge of crescent moon
Waiting unmoving, for a single word of yours
That will let the sickle slice cleanly through my soul.

A word can heal, a word can kill;
Your word can make my darkest Winter, warm Summer
And what you say can make my Spring, a frigid Fall;
Speak softly, say your word,
And I will harvest either a rich bounty – or else dry, poisoned chaff. 

TRAVEL TUESDAY 391 - KASTORIA, GREECE

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” – Wallace Stevens

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us.

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Kastoria (Greek: Καστοριά, Kastoriá) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of the Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains.

The town is known for its many Byzantine churches, Byzantine and Ottoman-era domestic architecture, its lake and its fur clothing industry. 

Lake Orestiada or Lake of Kastoria (Greek: Λίμνη Ορεστιάδα) is a lake in Kastoria. Sitting at an altitude of 630 metres, the lake covers an area of 28 square kilometres.  Nine rivulets flow into the lake, and it drains into the Haliacmon river. Its depth varies from nine to ten metres. The Kastoria Peninsula (with the town of Kastoria) divides the lake into two parts, the larger to the north and the smaller to the south.

The lake takes its name from the Oreiades (mountain nymphs). Lakeside attractions include, apart from the Byzantine architectural heritage of the town, an 11th-century Byzantine monastery of Panagia Mavriotissa and the reconstructed prehistoric settlement of Dispilio, where the Dispilio Tablet was retrieved from the lake in 1992. The lake is known to freeze in winters.

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POETS UNITED - AUTUMN

“How can I be reasonable? To me our love was everything and you were my whole life. It is not very pleasant to realize that to you it was only an episode.”
― W. Somerset Maugham 

After a break from Poets United due to life and work getting in the way of poetic musings, I return with this my offering for the Midweek Motif theme of “Autumn”. 

Autumn Adieu 

An autumn afternoon,
Mellow, golden, crisp;
You and I, smiling, whispering
Our arms lightly touching.

Our glasses full of wine,
Mellow, golden, crisp;
You and I, sipping, savouring,
Our feet entangled below the table.

The garden room deserted,
Quiet, serene, intimate;
We two, the last lunch customers
Make the most of this perfect afternoon.

Our eyes meet and our looks
Quiet, serene, intimate;
The silence between us comfortable
As violet evening approaches.

An Autumn evening,
Cold, dark, drizzly;
The silence broken finally, by your words:
Friendly, logical, final, delivered with a smile.

Alone, now as night falls,
Cold, dark, drizzly;
The silence now, ominous, frightening –
And a long, frigid Winter surely follows a golden Autumn…

FOOD FRIDAY - FRUIT LOAF

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” - Paul Theroux 

I love the cool, misty days of Autumn when afternoon sun comes out and shines warm, but quickly gives way to a rapidly falling night. Leaves turn yellow and fall, rain comes and goes, puddles shine like silver platters and soon, Winter shows up with cold, dark days when rain, sleet, snow and frost savour the season as if it were tossed in sea salt. Winter afternoons hanker for lots of fragrant, hot tea and a spicy, rich cake… Nothing like this wonderful fruit loaf, the recipe for which was given to us by a dear family friend, who unfortunately has passed away. She is remembered fondly.

Fruit Loaf for Afternoon Tea
Ingredients
150 g dried apricots
150 g pitted dates
100 g dried figs
100 g sultanas
100 g mixed candied peel
2 cups orange juice
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups Self-Raising Flour
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Butter or mascarpone cheese, to serve (optional) 

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 7cm deep, 10cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan with baking paper.
Combine dried fruit and juice in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 20 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Stir in bicarbonate of soda. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Transfer fruit mixture to a bowl. Stir in honey, sugar and eggs. Sift flour and spices over fruit mixture. Stir gently to combine. Spoon into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Stand for 10 minutes in pan. Turn onto a wire rack to cool. Serve slices at room temperature or toasted, spread with butter or mascarpone cheese if desired.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

FOOD FRIDAY - CAULIFLOWER SOUP

“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” - Mark Twain 

More cool and wet weather in Melbourne is forecast for the weekend so what better than some soup for warming away the Autumn coolness? 

Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
1 cauliflower, washed and chopped up
2 leeks (white parts), washed and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek powder
1 litre chicken (or vegetable) stock
Grated Parmesan cheese 

Method
Sauté leek in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add the cauliflower and stir through until thoroughly mixed. Add the salt, pepper and spices, stirring through.
Add two cups of the stock, cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender and then remove from the heat. Purée in a good blender with remainder of the stock. Simmer until hot.
Serve soup in large bowls with grated Parmesan, on the side.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

FOOD FRIDAY - PUMPKIN SOUP

“Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin.” - Simone Schwarz-Bart 

We harvested some butternut pumpkins from our garden today, so pumpkin soup is on the menu. 

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2 + 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 leek, white part only, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 kg pumpkin

1 large potato, peeled, grated

1L vegetable stock

1/2 cup cream

Method 
Cut pumpkin in half and microwave the two halves for three minutes to soften slightly. This makes peeling and cutting easy. Scoop out seeds and cut into thick slices. Rub 2 tbsp oil and salt on the pumpkin slices and bake on baking tray in a hot oven until pumpkin is cooked and browned on both sides. Remove from oven, mash and reserve.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add onion and leek and cook for 2-3 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add potato and stir thoroughly until softened. Add pumpkin and stock and bring to the boil. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then blend in batches.
Return soup to pan, stir through cream and reheat gently. Season and add a little more nutmeg if desired.
Serve with toasted slices of crusty bread and some grated parmesan for those that want to sprinkle on top of the soup.

This post is part of the Food Friday meme.

FOOD FRIDAY - PASTA!

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.” - Sophia Loren

Our weather continues to be cool and wet, making for a rather dreary end to the first month of Spring. Still, it makes for increased opportunities for hearty comfort food in the evenings at home. Here’s a fave vegetarian recipe of ours for such weather!

Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

20 g butter

1 onion thinly sliced

1 garlic clove mashed

2 tbs brandy

500 g thin spaghetti

500 g mushrooms chopped

1/2 tsp ground mace

1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

1/2 cup sour cream

Grated parmesan cheese

Fresh parsley to garnish

Method

Heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for five minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add brandy. Bring to the boil and then reduce to low heat. Cook onion mixture, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until caramelised.

Meanwhile, cook your chosen pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain well, reserving some liquid.

Increase heat of onion mixture to medium. Add thinly sliced mushrooms to onion mixture. And cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened. Add spices and cook, stirring over low heat, for 2 minutes or until heated through and add some of the reserved pasta liquor to keep the sauce fluid. Add sour cream while heating gently and stirring. Season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce over pasta, add grated parmesan and sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired for garnish.

FOOD FRIDAY - CABBAGE ROLLS

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.” - Paul Prudhomme

With Autumn upon us and with the temperatures getting lower, we have been enjoying heavier, heartier food that warms us in the cold and dark evenings. This recipe is one that has many traditional variants in many cuisines. Cabbage rolls is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the cuisines of the Balkans, Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe, as well as West Asia. Meat fillings are traditional in Europe, often beef, lamb, or pork seasoned with garlic, onion, and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, eggs, mushrooms, and vegetables are often included. Pickled cabbage leaves are often used for wrapping, particularly in Southeastern Europe. This is a Greek recipe and the dish is called Lahanodolmáddes.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g beef mince
1 cup parboiled calrose rice
Salt, pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400g can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
12-14 large savoy cabbage leaves, bases trimmed (use the inner tender leaves)
6 savoy cabbage leaves (use the outer tougher leaves)
500 mL beef stock
Lemon juice or home-made tomato sauce for serving.

Method
Heat oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until tender. Add mince. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, for 5 minutes or until browned. Add spices and stir through. Add wine, tomato paste and tomatoes. Bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in parsley and parboiled rice. Remove from heat. Allow to cool for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add four of the inner cabbage leaves to the pan. Cook until just softened. Refresh in a bowl of cold water. Drain and pat dry with paper towel. Cut the tough part of the stem in a V-shape and discard stem. Divide the leaf into two pieces. Repeat process with remaining inner leaves.
Finally boil the remaining outer leaves. Use these outer leaves to line the base of a large saucepan. Drizzle olive oil on top of the leaves.
Place one of the boiled inner cabbage leaves on a flat surface. Place 1/4 cup mince mixture at stem end of leaf. Fold edges in and roll up firmly to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining leaves and mince mixture.
Place cabbage parcels, seam side down, in prepared lined saucepan, making sure they abut onto one another with no space between them. Repeat in layers with remaining parcels. Cover with the remaining boiled outer cabbage leaves and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Cover leaves with a heavy plain ceramic dinner plate. Add the beef stock.
Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes, checking that the stock doesn't all evaporate away. A few mL of stock should be left behind in the pan when ready.
Remove plate and discard outer cabbage leaves before serving.
Serve lemon juice and heated tomato sauce on side for those who wish to drizzle either of these on top of the rolls just before eating.

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FOOD FRIDAY - TARTE AUX PÊCHES

“Chocolate’s okay, but I prefer a really intense fruit taste. You know when a peach is absolutely perfect... it's sublime. I'd like to capture that and then use it in a dessert.” - Kathy Mattea

When the mellow, warm, fine and sunny weather of Autumn comes it makes you think that Summer has come back just to say goodbye. You shed a few clothes that were made necessary by the low temperatures of just a couple days ago, sip on an iced tea and hanker for a Summer dessert. Too bad if ripe fresh peaches are out season, thankfully there are those you’ve preserved yourself or those that come in a can. In any case, the summery dessert is made, ready to be served on an early Autumn evening…

Upside Down Peach Tart

(Tarte aux Pêches)

Ingredients

350 g puff pastry (we use the frozen variety from the supermarket)

70 g unsalted butter

140 g caster sugar

1 cassia stick

4 perfectly ripe peaches, halved, stoned and each cut into 8 segments

(or use drained, canned peach segments)

Method

Roll out the puff pastry until 3 mm-thick. Using a 27 cm skillet or heavy oven-proof frying pan as a guide, cut out a 27 cm circle of pastry and place on a baking paper lined tray and refrigerate until needed. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Place the butter in the skillet with the sugar and cassia stick and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sugar melts and the syrup starts to become lightly golden. Carefully remove the cassia stick.

Arrange a neat layer of peach segments on top of the syrup in the skillet - they can overlap each other but must cover the base of the pan. Cook the peaches over low heat for 5 minutes without moving them, then remove the pan from the heat. 

Remove the pastry circle from the refrigerator and carefully place it on top of the peaches, using the back of a spoon to ease the edges of the pastry down between the peaches and the pan as if tucking in a blanket. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and you can see juices bubbling around the outside.  Remove from the oven and stand for 10 minutes before carefully inverting the tart onto a serving plate.

Garnish with clotted cream or French vanilla ice cream.

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FOOD FRIDAY - TOFFEE PUDDING

“Absolutely eat dessert first. The thing that you want to do the most, do that.” - Joss Whedon

As the weather becomes more autumnal every day, our diet changes also and we indulge in slightly heavier, more substantial fare that warms and provides energy. English toffee pudding is always appropriate for this time of the year…

Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

60 g butter, plus extra for greasing

180 g demerara sugar

1 tbsp golden syrup

2 large eggs

2 tbsp black treacle

220g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

200g pitted dates

300 mL boiling water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

For the sauce

120 mL double cream 60 g butter, diced

60 g brown sugar

2 tbsp black treacle

1 tbsp golden syrup

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Grease and flour 6 individual pudding moulds. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.

Meanwhile, blend the dates and boiling water in a food processor to a smooth purée. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla. Pour the date mixture into the pudding batter and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.

To make the sauce, heat all of the ingredients in a pan, stirring occasionally, until boiling. To serve, remove the puddings from the moulds and place onto each of 6 serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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FOOD FRIDAY - APPLE CHARLOTTE

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” - Martin Luther

Autumn is coming in the Southern Hemisphere and Melbourne has just experienced a few cool, grey days with lots of rain. The kitchen is becoming an attractive place to spend some time in and do some cooking. Meanwhile in the markets, new season apples, pears and nuts are making their appearance. This dessert recipe is just perfect for this kind of weather!

Apple Charlotte

Ingredients

500 g apples – half Granny Smith and half Jonathan

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Ground cinnamon and cloves

120 g butter

6-7 slices bread from a large loaf, cut about 5 mm thick, with crusts removed

2 egg yolks

Method

Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Rinse them in cold water and put them in a saucepan with the sugar and 25 g of the butter. Cook them over a low heat until they are soft enough to beat into a purée. Beat them and leave on one side to cool. Stir in the vanilla essence.

Meanwhile melt the remaining butter gently. Brush with butter the inside of a 600 mL ovenproof pudding basin.

Cut each slice of bread into rectangles. Brush each piece of bread with melted butter (both sides), being careful not to leave any unbuttered patches, then line the pudding basin with as much bread is needed. Don’t leave any gaps between the pieces, overlap them if need be and press firmly. Lightly dust the inside of the bread shell with ground cinnamon and cloves and also a little sugar.

When the apple purée has cooled, beat the egg yolks into it, mix well and fill the lined basin with the mixture. Finally seal the top with overlapping slices of the remaining bread. Place a suitably sized ovenproof plate on top of the pudding and weight it down with a heavy weight. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

After 30 minutes place the basin (with the weight still on it) in the oven to bake for 35 minutes. Then, with an oven cloth, remove the plate and weight, and bake the pudding for another 10 minutes to brown on top. Leave the pudding to settle in the basin for a minute after removing from the oven, then carefully invert it on to a warmed plate to serve.

Serve with clotted cream or ice cream.

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A YARRA VALLEY DAY TRIP

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” - Marcel Proust

Last week we had friends visiting us from interstate and while they were here we drove out to the northeast of Melbourne to the Yarra Valley. It is about 60 km from the City centre and is situated amongst low hills. The Yarra River flows through the valley to make its way to the City centre. Several picturesque small towns are found in this valley, amongst many vineyards and prime sheep and cattle country. Lilydale, Yea, Yarra Glen and Healesville are all thriving communities and prime tourist attractions.

Numerous wineries have made themselves famous in this location, some very old ones as well as many new. We drove to Yarra Glen, a small town full of charm on the banks of the Yarra and made our way to Domaine Chandon, a winery owned by the motherhouse of Môet et Chandon in France. This establishment produces sparkling wine that is as good as (or better I say!) than the champagne produced by Môet in France. They have a restaurant and wine tasting room onsite where one may enjoy the local wine and food while viewing the vineyards outside and towards the horizon the lovely blue hills. Autumn colours dotted the landscape, and fortunately we had a glorious, fine, warm and mellow day.

We then proceeded to Yering Station Winery, one of my favourite wineries there and enjoyed the hospitality of their restaurant. Having had lunch washed down by some excellent Australian wine, we proceeded to Healesville, whose claim to fame is an Australian animal wildlife sanctuary. This is another tourist destination where one may see Australian animals in their natural habitat: Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, echidnas, possums, platypuses, emus, cassowaries, pelicans, brolgas, eagles, ibises, cockatoos, rosellas, galahs, kookaburras and many more.

We enjoyed a cup of excellent coffee in an old-fashioned bakery and sampled some of the traditional sweets: Caramel slices, chocolate mousse slices, chocolate hedgehogs, coconut slices, apple and blueberry pies and chocolate éclairs. The day was concluded by a visit to a few shops selling old wares and antiques, and the drive back was pleasant with lots of music and laughter. Needless to say that the day was enjoyed very much by everyone…

POETRY JAM - TEA OR COFFEE?

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” - T. S. Eliot

Poetry Jam this week sets as its theme the doublet tea/coffee. Contributors are invited to: “Write about your first cup in the morning, or a special event that happened when you were drinking either at home or in a café. Share your fist cup of the day with us.”

Although I love tea and drink quite a bit of it, coffee is what I choose to start my day with. As far as the way that I drink it is concerned, typically a caffé latte in the morning, and if I have another cup during the day, it is usually an espresso or a double espresso without any sugar – coffee that is dark, strong, bitter and aromatic. Occasionally I will have a Vienna coffee or rarely a cappuccino.

Here is my poetic contribution:

Haiku for an Autumn Morning

Look! The East’s on fire
Darkness is quickly dispelled:
I start to think of work.

A crowded train; packed
Escalators, hubbub, din –
Cold streets are empty.

Fragrance of coffee
Warm cup; steam in the cold air.
Bitter taste, absence.

Words, numbers, papers:
My desk chaotic. Your call
Orders my morning.

A full day ahead,
The diary’s crammed, I talk on,
Loth to lose your voice.

A sunny morning,
Cool air and leaves that yellow:
Work as clouds gather.

POETRY JAM - EYES

“Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly look for fruit on it in autumn.” - Walter Scott

For this week, Poetry Jam has given a prompt relating to eyes, with the directive: “This week I would like you to write a NEW poem about eyes. A mother’s caring eyes. A father’s stern eyes. A child’s innocent eyes. A lover’s warm eyes. Eyes of God. Cold eyes. Open eyes. Closed eyes. Squinting eyes. Blind eyes. Inner Eye…”

Here is my contribution, keeping in mind that Autumn is coming to us who reside in the Southern Hemisphere:

Coming of Autumn

The rose was bled

And now it languishes,

Wilting, pallid, lifeless

Propped only by the collar of the vase.

The summer’s dead, its blue eyes

Forced shut by an autumn

Prematurely reigning –

Heat drowned by drizzle.

My eyes extinguished,

Are overcome by the opium

Of your memory;

Its presence strong, although illusory.

How can the frozen heart thaw

In autumn’s chills and icy rains?

How can even a sanguine libation

Revive the wilting rose?

No! – Coals of eyes cannot by fantasy’s

Cold fires be rekindled.

So I abandon me, in Fall’s grey skies,

A leaf unwilful, tossed by icy winds.

So I surrender me to a fading, wilting,

Premature exsanguination

And yield, succumbing me

To what fate has writ.

FOOD FRIDAY - BEAN SOUP

“Beans are the cornerstones of longevity diets around the world.” - Dan Buettner

A hearty vegetarian recipe today, perfect for cool weather and guaranteed to warm you up, while giving you a wealth important nutrients.

Butter Bean Soup
Ingredients
1 cup butter beans (dried white beans)
1 small potato
1 red onion
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sweet, roasted paprika powder
2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, pepper to taste.

Method
Soak butter beans overnight, drain and cook in fresh water for about 2 hours or until soft (this may take longer if you haven’t soaked them).  Chop onion, celery and potato. Sauté the onion in the oil then add the herbs and beans. Add the potato and water and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for twenty minutes. Serve hot.
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POETRY JAM - OLD AGE

“Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant thing. It is true you are gently shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front stall as spectator.” - Confucius

Poetry Jam has enjoined followers to write a poem: “…whatever your age, write away about the ever-old topics of age, aged or aging.” This topic has made me think about it on many occasions in the past, and you can see what I wrote here, and here, and here.

As it is Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, reflecting on old age becomes all that much easier as the year slows into its decline and ultimate fall. Here is my offering for this week:

Autumn Evening

As evening falls so softly, cold
Memory’s scent I follow,
And life grows dark and old.

Leaves die, as they turn to gold
The sound of voices hollow.
As evening falls so softly, cold

I try to break its stranglehold;
My spirits fall and ebb, so low –
And life grows dark and old.

I try to be so resolute and bold
To make my song again to flow
As evening falls so softly, cold…

The wood attacked, consumed by mould
Decay eats into it so slow,
And life grows dark and old.

My dreams to highest bidder sold
Love’s ghosts in sadness wallow:
As evening falls so softly, cold
And life grows dark and old.