Sunday, January 10, 2021

mourning dove feathers puffed out in a battle with the frost

driftwood anchor an otter surveying the icy water

pintail duck in midair I could use a wingful of energy

may apple on the forest floor the sun finally reaching your bones

bewick's wren the lilacs can't be far away

a bullfrog's swim through the fallen leaves of the last storm

abandoned field fireflies creating their own path of light

years' past the pink columbine from Colorado here, too

allred lake the cypress older than our republic

wild geranium bloom I, too, have life lines

castor river the granite forms of resistance

rest stop the monarch shielded by a sunflower

orange sky the stained glass of sugar maples

gnarled cedar how many revolutions have you seen

cardinal bright morning the red notes of someone else's song

a ring-billed gull its wings tilting towards the new year


Inspired by 2013's Natural Events Calendar



Friday, January 8, 2021

pickle springs winter the rocks become snow-capped mountains

tufted titmouse the first hints of dawn in a gray sky

with eagle intensity a pilot before landing

woodland splash the coyote sees me first

lamps of mushrooms across the forest*

a defiant stare the sparrow holds onto the ice

independence day miles above the pink granite the milky way

green heron almost missing him under the tupelo

nature's fireworks the sensitive briar lights its own fuse

valentines in august the prairie roses

cathedral dasher with spindly legs and crystal wings

the post oaks next to the diamond scores of dead ash

a cypress swamp the fog settles in for the night

blue clusters mapping out the small world of cedar berries

hooded merganser you've taken my morning hair to a new level

the december hurry starts with flurries


*bonnet mushrooms

Inspired by the 2014 Natural Events Calendar

new year old year the mobster-in-chief inciting a mob

Thursday, January 7, 2021

snowstorm no one expecting the bluebird

morning hike a cottontail standing in the snow

ice crystal tethered to the briefness of winter

swift current the sycamores tinged with rust

hughes mountain a fog drifts into our silence

trail guide each black-eyed susan

snowy owl how many miles did I walk to get here

a white tail negotiating the riffles

female cardinal red enough to be a beacon in the cedar

spotting a gray fox every color in the crayon box

lunch time a butterfly in a field of thistle

a scraggly wildness in the milkweed blooms

no one knows how they got here gooseberries part of the fence

sunny umbrellas the gray headed coneflowers

it's not spring until the redbuds open

sleepy hollow the sudden gold of witches' butter

the purpleness of a prairie in september

rain clouds on our last walk together


Inspired by 2020's Natural Events Calendar


Monday, January 4, 2021

snowmelt not even coffee can clear the morning fog

Sunday, January 3, 2021

frozen facebook page unfriended by winter
insomnia what do sheep count
years of neglect in the barn's collapse 
black ice a skid turns serious
doctored documentary this is not what happened
subtle changes in the gray to grey clouds
the spaces of loneliness, the senseless clutter
repurposed keys and the doors they went to forgotten

Thursday, December 24, 2020

christmas dinner we peel the green off the red potatoes

Saturday, December 12, 2020

december rain the landscape of depression and its unfinished work 

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

odometer 80,000 miles I feel like I've walked every one of them

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

holiday lights we miss the meteor shower