NaPoWriMo--DAY THIRTY!

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Our final (optional) prompt! In some past years, I’ve challenged you to write a poem of farewell for our thirtieth day, but this year, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem about something that returns. For, just as the swallows come back to Capistrano each year, NaPoWriMo will ride again!

But… 

After an unfortunate haircut 

I took solace in realizing 

My hair would return. 

And there is comfort in knowing 

The months of snow will go, 

The days of will rain end, 

The mud will dry, 

The screeching birds 

Outside my window 

When I want to sleep 

Will finally take a break. 

But 

What if, like my Barbie’s hair, 

They didn’t come back?

NaPoWriMo--DAY TWENTY FIVE

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Today—off prompt

Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb

Maybe a Flamethrower Would Help

Lying to myself 

Here in my bed, 

Watching the ceiling fan 

Over my head. 

Wonder if there’s monsters? 

Should they be fed? 

What about the ghost 

In the bedspread?

All of the signs— 

Have I misread? 

All of the clever things 

I could have said.

Bogeyman waits—

Is that asinine? 

Should I get up, 

Or should I recline? 

Don’t be a baby. 

Just grow a spine. 

Hit pause. Breathe. 

I just need time. 

I will survive 

Foolish land mines. 

So many scares 

Are cured by sunshine. 

NaPoWriMo--DAY TWENTY FOUR

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Write about a particular fruit – your choice, but describe this fruit as closely as possible.

Maracuyà 

Back in Cusco Peru, after two weeks of trains,

Buses and taxis and boats and airplanes.
Now seeking only a meal and a rest.
Nothing outlandish, what would you suggest? 

We went with a friend to a door in a wall

Where pizza aromas sent out a call.
We soon had a dinner too good to behold,
And a pitcher of liquid as yellow as gold.

It was fruity and citric and mellow and sweet.

From the Amazon jungle, a wonderful treat.
It is called Maracuyà, a gold passion fruit.
We all loved the flavor, there was no dispute.

The size of an egg with a pineapple zing,

Black seeds; fleshy fruit to make the tongue sing.
Many things I’ve forgot from the trip, it is true,
But I’ll always recall the gold fruit of Peru.

NoPoWriMo--DAY TWENTY TWO

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Engage with different languages and cultures through the lens of proverbs and idiomatic phrases. Many different cultures have proverbs or phrases that have largely the same meaning, but are expressed in different ways. Find an idiomatic phrase from a different language or culture, and use it as the jumping-off point for your poem.

Looking for Silver Linings 

The Czech said, “No need to walk around the porridge.” 

“Yes,” said the Frenchman, “The carrots are cooked.” 

“But there’s no need to make a bull out of a fly,” warned the Finn. 

“You’re right,” agreed the man from Japan. “Even monkeys fall from trees.” 

“Still, not all donuts come with a hole,” warned the Italian. 

“Well” Said the Swede, “There’s no cow on the ice.” 

“Yeah, no need to cry over spilt milk,” sighed the Yank. 

“We may be going bananas but there’s gotta be a light at the end of the tunnel.” 

“Yes,” agreed the German, “everything has an end, only the sausage has two.” 

“I’m not so sure,” said the Japanese. 

“If you speak of tomorrow, the rats in the ceiling will laugh.”

TOTALITY

I finally put together the story of The 2017 Eclipse from our house.  Thanks to Cindy and Ann for sharing photos.

There were twenty people in our back yard -- give or take five or six – on the morning of August 21, 2017.

Gordon had a Dutch oven full of riblets he was barbecuing for lunch.

Bob had his smoker ready for another rack of ribs.

I was working on getting a once-in-a-lifetime photo or two.

And everybody had their stare-at-the-sun glasses.

EVERYBODY. Some even had more than one pair.

Then at around ten a.m. we could see the shadow of the moon cut a notch out of the sun.

It was super exciting.

The neighbors brought over a shamrock plant to see if it would fold up like it does when evening comes.

Time passed.

And the moon and sun moved more.

We continued to watch.

However, it was difficult to tell if everyone was truly focused on the event.

We put paper down on the grass so we could watch for the eclipse shadow bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_bands

and also use it to show up the effect of our pinhole cameras.

We began to notice a weird darkness and there was a marked cooling of temperature.

The light shining through openings such as tree leaves turned from round to crescent.

Bob and Gordon kept one eye on the sky and the other on the barbecue.

Some tried looking through Gordon’s welder helmet to see what that was like.

Most were glad to pose for a “look amazed” photograph. Some, not so much.

The sky got darker and the air got cooler.

Almost totality!

Darker, colder. The shamrock started to fold up. The street light came on.

Cindy yelled, “shadow bands!” and then,

The Diamond Ring! We could see stars!

I was so excited I took two photos of total darkness before I remembered to take off the filter.

Corona

Solar flares

And in less than two minutes the sun began to reappear.

Then the sun and moon began to part ways.

The ribs were ready and so was the Dutch oven cobbler.

Warm sunshine returned.

The table was spread.

Everyone helped themselves to the picnic.

Nobody went hungry.

John and his friend stopped by. They’d chosen the rim of the Menan Butte to see the show. They’d also seen the shadow rushing across the land toward them.

After totality most out-of-towners hurried to leave hoping to beat the crowds so the highways turned into parking lots.

John, and Ann and her family tried to get to Utah but traffic south was bottle-necked into a crawl. The Simiskeys gave up and went back to stay overnight with Cindy in Idaho Falls. They made the trip to Logan the next morning just fine. 

John and his friend hung in for the duration and didn’t get to Salt Lake City until after midnight.

National Poetry Month Day Twenty-Nine

Prompt:  Make a quick list of the following:  2 foods you ate last night for dinner, the topics of your last Facebook post or tweet, 2 foreign words or phrases, 3 adjectives you associate with “deadline,” and 1 memorable movie line.  Now use this list in a ten to fifteen line poem.

 Carefree Curves Ahead

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

How she got in my pajamas, I don't know.

She wanted me to take a photograph.

“Do you like this look?” She asked, smiling for the camera.

“It has a certain je ne sais quoi.” I answered.

“Does the plaid make me look fat?”

“Uh, mas o menos.”

She looked at the stress on the seams.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have had that burrito with salsa.”

I glanced at her with anxiety when I realized

My pajamas fit her pretty well.

“Maybe we can run a 10k together later.” I suggested.

Nah,” she chuckled.

“Who needs the hassle?” 

National Poetry Month Day Fifteen

Prompt:  Write a poem about someone or something you are longing for.  Maybe it’s a new life, a new relationship or a new president.  Maybe it’s a submarine sandwich, or a person you have a secret crush on.  Consider playing with the word “desire”—maybe repeat this word in every other line, or maybe use words that rhyme with “desire” throughout your poem.

Desire

Clean air

Clean water

Cures for disease

Enough good food
Opportunity to thrive

Possibility to succeed

Better unrestricted education

Teachers paid what they’re worth

See…

Under all our garb

We want the same things.

“Friendship is born at that moment

When one man says to another: 

‘What! You too? 

I thought that no one but myself . . .’”

C.S. Lewis

“Because in spite of everything 

I still believe that people 

Are really good at heart.” 

Anne Frank

WHAT WE DID LAST SUMMER

After 1030 posts over eight fun years; I promised myself I’d quit blogging after the April 30 Day Challenge.  First; because we’d be without internet and even decent phone service for our second season in the woods working as volunteers at a summer camp. And second; because publishing stuff on my blog just takes a lot of time. 

Then I discovered a comment from my neighbor, Feral Woman, a few days ago on my last blog post--

“Leenie of the Great Mountains, I challenge you to post up some photos of the last few months, and tell us what you have done!!!”

Okay, FINE. Here is our summer in 27 photos.

We moved our borrowed 26 foot travel trailer to camp in May.  We were soon joined by the other volunteer couples who would spend the whole summer there with us.

 We hoped we had moved in after winter was over.  We were wrong.

 Weather or not, we went to work preparing the camp.  Contractors and volunteers came and went as remodeling and repairs happened everywhere.

 The scenery, such as the Grand Teton Mountains to the east, was amazing.   But we had little time to stop and gaze as we prepared for our first campers.

One project was to drop a dead tree without damaging a nearby cabin or anything else.

 When the dust cleared the tree was down exactly where the guys wanted it; between two fence posts where they had removed the fence.

 The weather was still pretty cold when our first big bunch arrived.  That didn’t dampen their spirit and energy.  They put on their sweatshirts and danced.

 Mosquitos hatched by the billions.  Finally we were provided with a fogger to knock them down.

  

Every week another party of around 250 girls and their leaders arrived to enjoy life in the woods without benefit of electronic gadgets.

 There were much better things to do.

 Cooking and dining al fresco---

 Making quilts and other items to be sent to refugees and disaster victims---

 Doing service projects to help at camp, such as a bucket brigade to stock the woodshed--

 Spending spiritual time around the campfire---

And being very, very silly---

DH and I worked with the other couples there to help make the camping experience memorable.

 We taught beginning archery.

 We took them through some challenging obstacles.

 And we shared the wonders of life in the forest with the heat and the dirt and the critters.

Several times we turned out all the yard lights for a few hours of star gazing. We had a nice dark sky to view the Persied Meteor Shower in August.

 We DID NOT join the hardy groups who arose at dawn to jump in our unheated pool for bragging rights.

We warned them over and over about the very real danger of bears in the woods. There were several bear scares but we never saw any in camp.

 But we knew they were there.  This is one of the tracks I discovered in the mud just up the creek from camp. (that's my walking stick with a bear bell)

 The fun continued.  Here is a group of leaders reminding the girls that running a bra up the flagpole was not okay.

 Our resident frogs and snakes were part of a catch and release program.

 At the end of the week all the campers pitched in to clean the cabins and the restrooms.

 Then they packed up their gear and some of our dirt and bugs and left.

 When the last group disappeared down the road we set to work to winterize the camp.

We put away the benches and tables and emptied the pool.

Then when the temperatures dipped to freezing and aspen leaves turned to gold we hauled out our houses and went home.

You can till check out what I'm up to with my watercolor paintings here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WatercolorsbyLeenie