prairie burn the short-eared owl perches on a charred cedar

cave entrance we only go as far as the sunlight will take us

longer days a pair of goldfinches just passing by

spring peepers no way to adjust the volume of their chorus

swollen feet the many reflections of tupelo

cattle egret in the middle of the day both of us at a standstill

red, yellow, orange the indian paintbrush with an autumn palette

the water boatman ferries itself across the pond

cedar apple rust creating its own type of bloom

buckeye butterfly we share a moment on the sandbar

blazing star quenching my thirst for color

frost extends the borders of a red oak leaf

glade reverie in each ladder of success another flower

a grayness follows the farm plow bonaparte's gull

the sugar maples already dressed for winter

Inspired by Natural Events Calendar 2002

january news a river fog blurs the crystal blue sky

icicle clinging to the greeness of a canyon fern

a young woodcock blending into the leaves of this year and last

arbor day the planted tree a few feet from the fallen one

the mockingbird's red mood guarding the holly berries

violet hepatica spring vibrates with each pulse of color

raccoon disturbance the evening's just getting started

lowbush blueberry I'd never expected to find scarlet here

spotted fawn everything looks new in the old hayfield

a milkweed pod filled with possibilities

strands of dew add prisms to the spider web

cushion moss using the rocky hillside for a pillow

whirligig beetles the future of water in every turn

barn owl peering out into the dusk of winter

Inspired by the 2003 Natural Events Calendar

presidential inauguration I will remember Bernie Sanders' mittens

falling snow the bluebird makes a spot for itself

sunset not much time to find the end of the trail

leaf litter I spy a striped chipmunk

fox kits the smallest one hiding behind its siblings

hummingbird the red rubies of tail feathers

glade coneflower the petals purple the air

busy june a swallowtail convention on a sandbar

redistributing the wealth a sweat bee spotted yellow with pollen

a waxwing crown almost invisible in the cedars

heavy rains the voice of water tumbling over rocky crags

waning summer a skink sliding over splintered logs with ease

midwestern fall hard to enjoy the scarlet leaves here

                         with a landfall hurricane in the south

cool september the smartweed caterpillar wearing its coat of many colors

3 deer each 1 looking at november from a different direction

tall grasses the brief splash of gold on a sunless day

Inspired by the 2016 Natural Events Calendar 

 

political angst the gop has given elephants a bad name*

*referencing flak I got for something I wrote because it referenced Elephant Rocks State Park and democracy. It was interpreted as a pro-Trump message instead of a message of hope that is found in nature. Rocks that have been around for billions of years are still with us today and that is my hope for democracy and freedom, however naive that hope may be. 

I thought about taking the post in question down but decided against it. Words can be interpreted in many different ways regardless of what I intended. People will see what they want to see. It also gave me perspective on what people who are conservative and labeled "far right" go through on a regular basis. I just got those same slings and arrows.

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

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

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

snowmelt not even coffee can clear the morning fog